Pope Francis made the first-ever papal visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday and sought to encourage its efforts to integrate into European institutions after its name change resolved a decades-long dispute with Greece.
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in in Skopje, North Macedonia, on May 7, 2019. Francis landed in North Macedonia in a visit delighting a small country whose capital is the birthplace of Mother Teresa.
After landing at Skopje’s airport, Francis went by car — a typically small Volkswagen Jetta — for talks with outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov. His 10-hour visit also included a prayer at the memorial of North Macedonia’s most famous native daughter, Mother Teresa, as well as a Mass for the tiny Catholic community in the country of 2.1 million.
“She went to the Lord exactly as she went to the despised, the unloved, the lonely and the forgotten,” Francis said to a crowd in a central Skopje square where organizers estimated 15,000 gathered. The country has been an EU candidate since 2005 but is still waiting for the start of membership talks with the bloc. With the name dispute now resolved, North Macedonia hopes to get a clear signal for the start of accession talks in June. It expects to become the 30th NATO member at the end of this year.
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