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Pope Francis prays in silence at former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp | Pope Francis prays in silence at former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Pope has offered a private prayer at the former Auschwitz death camp. | The Pope has offered a private prayer at the former Auschwitz death camp. |
He walked alone and in silence around the concentration and extermination camp in what was Nazi-occupied Poland where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed. | |
Pope Francis also met elderly survivors of the camp, kissing them on the cheeks and speaking to them softly. | Pope Francis also met elderly survivors of the camp, kissing them on the cheeks and speaking to them softly. |
He is on his third day of a visit marking 1,050 years since Poland's adoption of Christianity. | He is on his third day of a visit marking 1,050 years since Poland's adoption of Christianity. |
Francis has become the third Pope to walk through the main gate of Auschwitz, under its infamous inscription "Arbeit Macht Frei" - work sets you free. | Francis has become the third Pope to walk through the main gate of Auschwitz, under its infamous inscription "Arbeit Macht Frei" - work sets you free. |
But unlike his German and Polish predecessors, he is not speaking about the horrors that occurred there, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw. | But unlike his German and Polish predecessors, he is not speaking about the horrors that occurred there, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw. |
Francis passed under the gates alone, wearing white robes and skullcap. After meeting the survivors, he placed a candle at the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed by the Nazis, before continuing on his own. | Francis passed under the gates alone, wearing white robes and skullcap. After meeting the survivors, he placed a candle at the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed by the Nazis, before continuing on his own. |
The Pope stopped to pray at the prison cell of Maximilian Kolbe, a beatified Polish Catholic friar who sacrificed his life to save that of another man. | The Pope stopped to pray at the prison cell of Maximilian Kolbe, a beatified Polish Catholic friar who sacrificed his life to save that of another man. |
He knelt for many minutes in the underground cell, illuminated only by the light from a tiny window, the Associated Press news agency reports. | He knelt for many minutes in the underground cell, illuminated only by the light from a tiny window, the Associated Press news agency reports. |
The Argentine Pope is on a five-day trip to Poland. | The Argentine Pope is on a five-day trip to Poland. |
During a World Youth Day rally in the southern city of Krakow on Thursday, he urged compassion for migrants. | During a World Youth Day rally in the southern city of Krakow on Thursday, he urged compassion for migrants. |
He told hundreds of thousands of people that "a merciful heart opens up to welcome refugees and migrants" - a statement that puts him at odds with Poland's anti-immigrant right-wing government. | He told hundreds of thousands of people that "a merciful heart opens up to welcome refugees and migrants" - a statement that puts him at odds with Poland's anti-immigrant right-wing government. |