Vatican officials say pope likely to visit Auschwitz
Following predecessors, Francis expected to go to Nazi death camp during upcoming Poland trip
Raoul Wootliff is a former Times of Israel political correspondent and Daily Briefing podcast producer.
Pope Francis is expected to visit the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp following an upcoming trip to Krakow in July, a senior Vatican official said Wednesday.
“It is very likely that Pope Francis will visit the concentration camp at Auschwitz,” said Father Federico Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office, according to Vatican Radio.
Speaking during the presentation of a book by an Italian Holocaust survivor, Lombardi noted that Francis’s two predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, went to Auschwitz during their respective visits to Poland.
Pope Francis will visit the Polish city to mark World Youth Day, which is celebrated the week of July 25.
Confirming the trip last month, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that the pontiff expressed a desire to visit the museum and memorial on the site of the notorious death camp.
Duda attended the Wednesday ceremony at the Auschwitz memorial marking the 71st anniversary of the concentration camp’s liberation. Red Army troops reached the camp on January 27, 1945 — a date the United Nations has designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Nazis murdered 1.1 million people at Auschwitz, mostly Jews, but also Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.