The Wise Men by Juana Díaz This morning achieved one of their most cherished goals: greet and talk Pope Francisco. As planned, the pontiff met with various guests, including Puerto Ricans, after the general meeting in Vatican City.
As they announced several days ago, during the meeting the three wise men were going to make two requests to the Pope: that he add the island to the itinerary for the West and that he appoint a cardinal for the local population. Catholic Church.
During the trip to Rome, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar were with Juana Díaz, the mayor of the city. Ramon Hernandez Torresand a 66-member delegation.
They are also known to have presented Pope Francis with three works by Puerto Rican artists: An acrylic painting on canvas titled “Three Wise Men of Borikén” by painter Edward “Moyo” Cruz, an oil portrait of Pope Francis by painter Felipe Rivera, and some Three Wise Men carved in cedar by artist Adrian Rodriguez.
“When the Pope approached us, we greeted him, we each gave him our gifts, and explained who we were, where we came from, where we came from, and how our Three Kings Day celebration is 139 years old”The king explained Melchior. “He asked us to walk through the Vatican, through the city. We were the group that talked to him the most. We made two requests that we came to make: In 2024, the Puerto Rican Catholic Church, the American Missionary Congress (CAM 6), where he will visit Puerto Rico, is going to be the headquarters. .The best Catholic activity in all of Latin America and a Cardinal will name us.
Pope Francis did not hesitate to respond to the requests of the three wise men. “He told us that he was very interested and that he wanted to come to Puerto Rico and had it on his agenda. He told us about the cardinal that he was going to think about it. So we have hope,” Melchor said.
This is the second method of the three sages Juana Diaz They are received by a pope. The first occasion was in 2004, when John Paul II was head of the Church at the time, it was reported in a press release. “It was a very precious experience. The meeting was more personal than the meeting with Pope John Paul II in 2004. Obviously this is a Latin Pope and we communicate in Spanish. John Paul II spoke to us in Spanish then but his health was very delicate. This year was very special because it was a dialogue between Hispanic Catholics and we were able to explain all of our heritage and give him the affection that Puerto Rico has for the Pope. Congratulations to Argentina for winning the World Cup Football Championship. It was an experience we will never forget.”
As requested by Pope Francis, when the Mass was over, The Kings visited the Plaza San Pedro, where they spent two hours with countless people and families who took photos with them..
After completing their program in the Vatican and Italy, the Magi will travel to Spain to give a presentation on December 29 at the San Esteban Protomártir Parish in Madrid.
Upon returning to Puerto Rico, they will continue with their traditional caravan, in which they will visit different municipalities from January 2 to 5. On Three Kings Day, starting at 10:00 a.m., the 139th edition of the traditional Three Kings Festival will begin at Juana Díaz.
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