The death of Pope Francis, aged 88, continues to be reported in the media around the world. And it is already known that the funeral of the leader of the Catholic Church is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, at 9am. But in the meantime, a question is emerging in Lisbon: can a Pope Francis Park be ‘born’?
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, has announced that he will present the city council with a proposal to rename the current Parque Tejo as Parque Papa Francisco.
According to information from Lusa, quoted by SIC Notícias, this intention was revealed at the entrance to Lisbon Cathedral, before the start of a mass in honor of the pontiff, where Moedas underlined the impact of the Pope’s visit to the Portuguese capital and the importance of the 2023 World Youth Days, which had Parque Tejo as their central stage.
The mayor justified the proposal as a way of perpetuating the memory of Pope Francis and marking the remarkable days spent in Lisbon during WYD, saying that “those six days left a city of hope, with the young people and the concerns of this Pope”.
The initiative was welcomed by the current Patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério. However, now we have to wait and see if the measure will go ahead or not. Until then, how about reminiscing about WYD?
A brief look back at WYD
From August 1 to 6, 2023, Lisbon hosted WYD, one of the biggest religious and youth events to take place in Portugal. At the time, the initiative brought together more than 1.5 million young people from all over the world.
Parque Tejo was one of the main epicentres of the celebrations and the program, with Pope Francis in attendance. Lisbon was thus a transit point for the former leader of the Catholic Church.
In addition, the Portuguese capital was the third city on the Iberian Peninsula to organize WYD, after Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) and Madrid (Spanish capital).