Source: http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/02/0 ... o-in-june/

Pope Francis will visit Sarajevo in June

ROME — Pope Francis will travel to Sarajevo for a one-day trip on June 6, part of an emerging pattern of trips by the pontiff to former conflict zones, following similar outings to Albania last year and Sri Lanka in January.

The capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, once known as the “Jerusalem of Europe” for its religious diversity, was also the scene of fierce urban combat as part of the 1990s-era Bosnian War.

The trip was announced by the pope during his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square Sunday.

Francis asked the faithful gathered in Rome to start praying for the visit to Sarajevo, so that the trip would serve as an “encouragement to Catholics” and raise “ferments of good.”

“Pray for the trip,” Francis said, “so it contributes to the consolidation of fraternity and peace, inter-religious dialogue, and friendship.”

The Argentinian pontiff has made inter-religious dialogue a key factor during most of his international trips. Meetings with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I were the principal official reasons for his visits to the Holy Land last May and to Turkey in November.

The last pope to visit Sarajevo was Pope John Paul II in April 1997.
Barring any unexpected trips between now and June, the visit to Sarajevo will be Francis' eighth outside Italy. It will be his second day-trip outside the country, following a visit last November to Strasbourg, France, to address the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.
Francis has made Catholic-Orthodox dialogue and inter-religious efforts a key part of his trips abroad, having several meetings with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew during a trip to Turkey last November and taking part in inter-religious encounters in Sri Lanka last month.


Good luck Francis!