Cardinal Pietro Parolin does not travel with Pope Francis to Asia due to the death of his mother

Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s mother, Ada Miotti Parolin, died on August 31 at the age of 96 in Italy.

For this reason, the Vatican authority has had to leave Rome and move to the Italian town of Vicenza, where the funeral will take place early in the morning of Tuesday, September 3.

Cardinal Parolin planned, as on past occasions, to accompany the Holy Father on his 11-day trip to Asia and Oceania.

The Pontiff heads today for what will be the longest Apostolic Journey of his Pontificate and is scheduled to return to the Vatican on September 13.

Due to the death of his mother, which he reported “with pain, but in the faith of Jesus Christ crucified and risen,” the cardinal will not be able to travel with Pope Francis on this occasion. The Vatican has not yet confirmed whether the cardinal will join later.

As reported Vatican NewsPope Francis expressed his condolences and his closeness with prayer.

After the funeral celebration, the cardinal’s mother will be buried in the Schiavo cemetery, in Vicenza. Likewise, the family thanked everyone who was “affectionately close to dear Ada” and those who will attend the funeral, asking for “not flowers, but good deeds.”

Pope Francis’ trip: an encounter with China and Islam

On the eve of this extensive and long-awaited trip, the Secretary of State he pointed out to the Vatican media that “the first hope that Pope Francis carries in his heart is that of encounter: to personally meet the populations of the countries he will visit.”

According to the cardinal, “it is about returning to the theme of closeness, the proximity that so characterizes the style of his pontificate and of which apostolic journeys are a relevant expression.”

Likewise, he highlighted that the Holy Father’s visit to Singapore, the last destination of this trip, whose population is mostly ethnic Chinese, “constitutes a privileged place for dialogue with Chinese culture and people in general.”

For its part, the visit to Indonesia, being the most populous Muslim country, “can constitute a favorable occasion for a new encounter with Islam.”

“Direct encounter, if inspired by the search for the common good and not by particular and, in the end, selfish interests, can open a gap even in the most insensitive and hardened hearts and make a respectful and constructive dialogue possible,” the cardinal remarked.