Upon arrival in Lisbon, Pope Francis was escorted by car to the Belém Palace, where the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, awaited him. The two Heads of State sat side by side and marked the official encounter with a photograph.   

In front of the Belém Palace, salutes fired by a Navy frigate on the Tejo river and the Portuguese national Anthem can be heard. The visit of the Holy Father was received by a multitude of pilgrims and Portuguese people, who applauded and were moved with his arrival. 

Two pilgrims from Burgundy, in France, witnessed this moment, which they described as “very intense”. “We were not expecting it, there were a lot of people and we thought we had missed the opportunity to see him. For these young people, the Lisbon 2023 World Youth Day would not be complete without the presence of the Pope. “He is the symbol of everything we are going to experience”, they add.  

The visit was marked by the signing of the Book of Honour, where Francis left a message for Lisbon, which he referred to as the “city of encounter”. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa smiles as he reads the Book of Honour, where the Holy Father, who refers to himself as a “pilgrim of hope in Portugal”, expressed wishes of a path “towards horizons of fraternity”. 

Still, during the course of this morning, Pope Francis will have a meeting with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps.