President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis emphasised, “The visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia in the year marking the centenary of our statehood is a great honour for our country and its people. This year is a reference point for all the accomplishments made so far and an opportunity at the same time to lay a solid foundation for the future when the next generations exist. I am convinced that the visit of Pope Francis will encourage us to advocate crucial universal human values and fulfil the intentions to build a better, fairer, and more cohesive Latvia.”
A detailed programme of the pastoral visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia
08:20 Arrival at Riga International Airport from Vilnius
08:50 Official welcoming ceremony at the Riga Castle
09:05 Official photo, signing the guestbook, and the official exchange of gifts (Riga Castle)
09:10 Tête-à-tête meeting of H.E. President of Latvia and His Holiness Pope Francis (Riga Castle)
09:30 Address by His Holiness Pope Francis to the top officials, civil society, and diplomatic corps of Latvia (Riga Castle)
10:10 Flower-laying ceremony at the Freedom Monument
Families with children and young people are welcome to watch the ceremony near the Freedom Monument
10:30 His Holiness Pope Francis goes to the Riga Dome Cathedral in the popemobile (Route: Kaļķu Street - Šķūnu Street – Dome Square)
10:50 Ecumenical church service in the Riga Dome Cathedral
11:40 His Holiness Pope Francis goes to St. Jacob’s Cathedral (Route: Jēkaba Street -Klostera Street)
11:50 Visiting the St. Jacob’s Cathedral, meeting with seniors
12:30 Lunch of His Holiness Pope Francis with Bishops of Latvia
16:00 Arrival of His Holiness Pope Francis in Aglona
16:05 Going from the helipad to the Sacred Square and around the area in the popemobile while greeting the believers
16:30 Holy Mass (at the Popes altar)
18:30 Farewell ceremony
The visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Baltic States will take place from 22 September to 25 September 2018, when he will also visit Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania and Tallinn in Estonia. This year marks the 25th anniversary since the visit of St. Pope John Paul II to Latvia.
Throughout the day, we invite you to follow up the pastoral visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia by watching the live broadcasts of the Latvian Television
https://ltv.lsm.lv/en/tieshraide/ltv1/live.360/.
Additional information regarding the pastoral visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia is available at https://pavestslatvija2018.lv/.
Media information:
• Photos made by the Chancery of the president of Latvia during the pastoral visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia
• Photos made by the Information Centre of the Latvian Roman Catholic Church are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pavests_francisks_latvia2018/album
The photos shall be used without additional harmonisation by using the reference to the author: Chancery of the President of Latvia or the Information Centre of the Latvian Roman Catholic Church.