There, the Holy Father was welcomed by the rector of UCLouvain, Françoise Smets. This is because the Pope came at the invitation of the university to celebrate its 600th anniversary. The rector of KULeuven, Luc Sels, the governor of the Province, Gilles Mahieu and the mayor of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Julie Chantry were also in front of the Aula Magna to greet the pope.
In the secure parking lot and with controlled access – to enter, you had to register either via the university or via the City – there are students, young people, old people, people coming alone, as a couple , in a group. Among them, Thomas who is there “out of curiosity, not out of religious conviction” and whose brother also played in the Leuven student symphony orchestra (OSEL) at the Aula Magna.
“Perhaps the only time we will be able to see him”
There are also Claire and William, 18 years old, who are cousins. “It’s a historic moment. It’s rare for a pope to come to Belgium. This is perhaps the only time I will have the opportunity to see him”testifies William.
For Suzy and Marie, this is the second time they have seen a pope in Louvain-la-Neuve. “I have lived there for 51 years and I was already there for the visit of John Paul II, in 1985. The lake had been created recently and, a small miracle, it had filled shortly before the visit of the pope”says Suzy for whom a papal visit is “an important event for our city. Furthermore, the Pope is an inspiring figure in the current context”.
And Marie added: “We admire him. I like his simplicity, and he has a lot of empathy.”
“But I still don’t agree with all his positions, on abortion or welcoming homosexual peopleSuzy intervenes. Or even on the place of women within the church.”
The conversation between the two friends begins. Married : “We can only hope that things change. Look in Walloon Brabant, the vicariate has been entrusted to a woman (Editor’s note: in December 2023, Rebecca Charlier-Alsberge was appointed not vicar but episcopal delegate by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Monseigneur Luc Terlinden). The Pope probably wants things to move too, but he is blocked by others.”
“It has to be unlocked”enjoins Suzy.
The Pope was also questioned by the university community on the question of the place of women in society and the Church. And in view of the very conservative speech he gave in the Aula Magna, we say to ourselves that there is still a way to go.
But it is not certain that many people in the audience directly understood the words of the 87-year-old Argentine pope, the latter speaking in Italian.
“How can I not praise you?”
It is 5:56 p.m. when he arrives on the balcony of the Aula Magna to greet the crowd of some 4,000 people waiting for him in the parking lot. A person shouts: “Long live the Pope”. The Holy Father is applauded, but not for long. He receives a skullcap from two students. He carries it for a brief moment. He then joins a golf cart for a walkabout. He takes the time to shake hands, he offers rosaries. We feel relaxed, at ease, happy to be there.
By the time he reaches them, the members of the student parish of Louvain-la-Neuve are singing, notably repeating “How can I not praise you?”, the title of Father Aurélien, from Gentinnes.
The Pope stops near the group. There, a member of security takes a baby who is handed to him so that he can be blessed by the pope. It was then the turn of Claire, a Neolouvanist, to hand over to the Pope her grandson, Aymard, who lives in Court-Saint-Étienne. He in turn is blessed by the Holy Father who offers him a rosary. “That was the purpose of my coming. His father works for RCF (Editor’s note: French-speaking Christian radio) and he insisted that I have his son blessed by the Pope. And then, it was important to all feel Christian together. We sang and prayed together.”
François continues on his way, greeting the crowd. By 6:18 p.m. he was gone.
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