Madrid, Spain, Aug 20, 2011 / 11:27 am
Pope Benedict XVI will receive a group of Norwegian World Youth Day pilgrims at the Cuatro Vientos airport on August 20, addressing them with encouraging words following last month's terrorist attack.
“Norway, as we are all aware, suffered this tragedy that impacted the whole world, during which many young people died,” Vatican Press Office Director Father Federico Lombardi noted on August 20.
Fr. Lombardi said the Pope would give the pilgrims a “message of hope and integration” in the aftermath of the violence that killed 77 people.
The address will occur in the context of the vigil that will take place in the Cuatro Vientos airport, which opened its doors early in the day to host the estimated 1.5 million people expected to attend the concluding events of World Youth Day 2011.
Anders Behring Breivik, an opponent of European immigration and multiculturalism, was responsible for the July 22 attacks in the Norwegian capital of Oslo and the island of Utoya.