Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the Church of Saint-Gilles on Saturday morning, where he met with disadvantaged people and a local association which provides them with breakfast every weekend.
The head of the Catholic Church is visiting Belgium at the invitation of the Catholic universities of UC Louvain and KU Leuven to celebrate their 600th anniversary. During his stay, Pope Francis will travel throughout Brussels, Leuven, Koekelberg, and Louvain-la-Neuve to participate in multiple festivities and meetings, culminating in a Holy Mass for 35,000 people at King Baudouin Stadium on Sunday.
Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with leaders of the Belgian Catholic Church on Saturday morning at the Basilica of Koekelberg, but made the impromptu visit to Saint-Gilles beforehand.
The unplanned visit took him to an association in Saint-Gilles that assists vulnerable individuals, mainly the homeless, from Monday to Friday.
On Saturday mornings, a parish initiative provides breakfast for the most disadvantaged. The Pope spent about half an hour meeting with some of these people, before leaving for his 10:00 engagement in Koekelberg.
Later this afternoon, the Pontiff will head to UC Louvain to meet with university students.
