The Vatican added a new papal trip to an already packed 2019 calendar last week. It confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Romania from May 31 to June 2.
Why did the Pope pick this destination, rather than a historically Catholic country such as France or Spain? According to Romania’s 2011 census, it has just 870,774 Latin Rite Catholics and 150,593 Greek Catholics, who together account for roughly five per cent of the population.
Yet it is no secret that Francis has a strong preference for countries on the “peripheries”. Romania has struggled to overcome the brutal legacy of communism and is known today for its poverty and high abortion rate. Its population – currently 20 million – is expected to plummet thanks to emigration and a sub-replacement fertility rate.
