After his death This April 21, 2025, memories of their passage through Latin America are revived. In September 2017, Pope Francis made An apostolic visit to Colombia, touring the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena.
During his stay, the Pontiff emphasized the importance of reconciliation and social justice, urging Colombians to leave violence and build a more equitable society.
Despite being Argentine, Pope Francis never returned to his native country since he assumed the pontificate in 2013. His decision to prioritize Colombia over Argentina generated various interpretations and debates, both in the religious and politician sphere.
Pope Francis in Colombia: a message of peace in a divided country
Colombia’s choice as a destination of his apostolic trip responded to the need to support a peace process that he was looking for End more than five decades of armed conflict. Pope Francis expressed his desire to “take the first step” towards reconciliation, motto that marked his visit.
During his stay, the pontiff celebrated massive masses and meetings with victims of the conflict, ex -combatants and social leaders, promoting forgiveness and national unity.
In Villavicencio, for example, he presided over an emotional act of reconciliation where he heard testimonies of victims and perpetrators, and beatified two Colombian martyrs: Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve and Pedro María Ramírez Ramos.
These gestures symbolized their commitment to the healing of the wounds of the past and the construction of a future in peace.
Pope Francis’s visit left a deep mark on Colombian society. His messages of hope, forgiveness and commitment to the most vulnerable resonated in a country that sought to heal the scars of the conflict. Years later, his words continue to inspire initiatives for reconciliation and social justice in various regions of the country.
Mediation with Uribe
Pope Francis summoned a meeting in the Vatican to the then president, Juan Manuel Santos, and the ex -president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the main opponent of the Pact, on December 16, 2016.
This meeting, organized at the Holy Seehe sought to bring positions after the plebiscite, in which “no” was imposed on the original text of the agreement with the FARC.
The meeting, which took place in the Library of the Apostolic Palace, was marked by the lack of consensus. Despite the efforts of the pontiff, Uribe reiterated his criticisms of the agreement and requested more reforms to the peace pact.
The Vatican at that time, in an official statement, stressed that Francisco spoke of the “culture of the encounter”, and the need for a sincere dialogue among all the actors of Colombian society in this historical moment. Despite mediation, the meeting concluded without a significant approach between the two political leaders.
How was the visit?
The trip began since September 6, and culminated on 10. It included the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Villavicencio and Cartagena de Indias. It was the third papal visit to Colombia, after which they were previously made by Paul VI in 1968 and Juan Pablo II in 1986.
On September 6, Francisco landed in Bogotá, where he was received by President Juan Manuel Santos, the first lady Clemencia Rodríguez and the Apostolic Nuncio Ettore Balero.
In the Plaza Bolívar, before thousands of people, the Pontiff received the keys of the city and prayed to the Virgin of Chiquinquirá. In a message to youth, he called for reconciliation and the encounter beyond the differences. In Simón Bolívar Park, during a massive mass, Francisco asked Colombians: “They do not abandon peace efforts.”
That day, the Pope received a letter from the former FARC leader, Rodrigo Londoño, asking for forgiveness. In his letter, Londoño, who published the letter in X, said he hoped to convince Francisco to understand that the guerrilla group was always motivated by a sincere desire to defend the poorest and most excluded citizens from the nation. Likewise, in the letter it is mentioned that the FARC renounced hate and violence.
