(24 Sep 2018) Pope Francis praised Latvians on Monday for persevering through the horrors of Soviet and Nazi occupation, persecution and exile, and urged them to keep their Christian faith alive as subsequent generations confront new oppressions today.
During his homily outside the rain-drenched Mother of God basilica, at Latvia's most important Catholic shrine at Aglona, Francis said that sometimes "we see a return to ways of thinking that would have us be suspicious of others, or would show us with statistics that we would be better off, more prosperous and more secure just by ourselves."
"All of us may recommit ourselves to welcoming one another without discrimination," he told the faithful who stood through rain showers awaiting his arrival.
The basilica, near the southeastern border with Russia, is home to an important icon of the Virgin Mary that draws pilgrims from across the Baltics and Russia each year.
Francis is visiting Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to mark their 100th anniversaries of independence and to encourage the faith in the Baltics, which saw five decades of Soviet-imposed religious repression and state-sponsored atheism.
In addition, the Nazi occupation nearly exterminated their Jewish populations.
Latvia's population of some 2 million is about a quarter Lutheran, with Catholic and Orthodox minorities.
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