With church attendance in decline and child abuse scandals still live, the pontiff has arrived in Luxembourg to try and raise morale.
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Pope Francis arrived to a rainy Luxembourg on Thursday, as he starts his tour through the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals.
Francis met with the country's Grand Duke, Prime Minister Luc Frieden and other government officials.
He called on Europe to be a beacon of hope in wartime and a welcoming home for migrants, and cited Luxembourg's position as a geographic crossroads in Europe, pointing out it was invaded during both World Wars and that its people are keenly aware of the consequences of “exaggerated forms of nationalism and pernicious ideologies”.
"Ideology is always the enemy of democracy," Francis said, deviating from his prepared remarks. “Luxembourg can show everyone the advantages of peace as opposed to the horrors of war."
Francis praised the country for its tradition of opening its doors to foreigners, but also urged it to use its affluence to help poorer nations so their people aren’t forced to flee to seek better economic opportunities in Europe.
"This is the best way to ensure a decrease in the number of those forced to emigrate, often in inhumane and dangerous conditions,” he said.
A faith in decline?
The trip is reminiscent of the 10-day tour St. John Paul II made through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1985, during which the Polish pope delivered 59 speeches or homilies and was greeted by hundreds of thousands of adoring faithful.
In Luxembourg alone, John Paul drew a crowd of some 45,000 people to his Mass, or some 10% of the population at the time.
Even then, the head of the Catholic Church faced indifference and even hostility to core Vatican teachings on contraception and sexual morals u— opposition that has only increased over time.
Those secular trends and a decades-long cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have helped speed the decline of the church in the region, with monthly Mass attendance in the single digits and plummeting ordinations of new priests.
Nevertheless, the narrow streets surrounding the Dukal Palace were packed with well-wishers who braved the morning rain to catch a glimpse of the pope in his pope mobile.
Francis was in Luxembourg for just a few hours before flying onto Belgium, where he will stay through the weekend. Immigration and peace are expected to be on the agenda again, but the Pope is also expected to meet with survivors of sexual abuse by Belgian clergy.