Pope on board to journalists: Make known these cultures far from the West

Alessandro Di Bussolo - Vatican City

On the flight to Thailand, the first stage of his 32nd apostolic journey and the fourth to East Asia, the Pope greeted journalists on board saying, "Good evening, thank you for accompanying me on this journey, thank you for your work, it is so good for people to be informed, to know these cultures that are far from the West".

"Make known these cultures far from the West

At Fiumicino airport and before boarding the Alitalia plane, the Pope greeted civil and religious authorities. Then, as usual, with his briefcase in his left hand, he climbed the steps to reach the aircraft entrance door. From here, shortly before taking his seat, he briefly stopped to greet the 58 year-old Captain Alberto Colautti, who has 15,000 hours of flight time to his credit. He also greeted the three co-pilots and the six flight attendants who were waiting for him.

On Tuesday evening at 6 p.m, before leaving the Casa Santa Marta for Fiumicino airport, Pope Francis met with a dozen  elderly people hosted by the Little Sisters of the Poor in San Pietro in Vincoli. The group was accompanied by the Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.