Pope Francis has long been a stickler for setting aside enough time to pray, getting up at 4:30am to ensure he is not rushed through his daily meditations.
However, he sheepishly asked to skip evening vespers on Aug. 16 after he ran behind schedule during a busy day that saw him celebrate a Mass before about 800,000 people in Seoul and then travel 90km to a South Korean community that cares for disabled people.
Francis had three meetings scheduled consecutively in the community of Kkottognae, and by the time he hit the second one — a vespers service in Latin and Korean and speech to some 5,000 nuns — he was running out of time.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
“I’ve got a little problem,” he told the crowd. “If there’s one thing you should never do, it’s skip your prayers, but today we’ll have to do it alone and I’ll tell you why: I came by helicopter, and if we don’t take off in time, there’s a danger we might smash into a mountain.” The crowd erupted in laughter once Francis’ Italian apologies were translated into Korean.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said the reason Francis was behind schedule was absolutely justified. He took extra time to greet and bless each of the 60 or so disabled children and elderly residents of the Kkottognae community, lingering to caress the cheek of one woman in a vegetative state and embrace anyone who wanted a papal hug. “This was more important for him, and for us I think,” Lombardi said.
(AP)
天主教教宗方濟各長久以來一直堅持留出足夠時間祈禱，他凌晨四點三十分起床，確保不匆促進行每日的靈修。
不過，八月十六日他羞赧地要求略過晚禱，因為他在馬不停蹄的一天當中行程落後，這一天他在首爾約八十萬名群眾前主持一場彌撒，然後奔馳九十公里，到一個照顧殘障人士的南韓社區。
方濟各原本在「花村」社區連續有三個聚會行程，但到第二個聚會時—一場以拉丁文與韓文進行的晚禱，並對約五千名修女發表演說—他沒時間了。
「我發生一個小問題，」他告訴群眾。「若有一件你們絕不該做的事，那就是略過你們的祈禱，但今天我們必須自己祈禱，我告訴你們為什麼：我搭直升機來這裡，如果我們沒有及時起飛，我們或許會有撞山的危險。」當方濟各的義大利語道歉被翻成韓語時，群眾爆出大笑。
梵蒂岡發言人隆巴迪神父說，方濟各行程落後的原因絕對情有可原：他花了額外時間一一問候並祝福花村社區裡約六十名殘障兒童與長者、駐足親吻一名女植物人臉頰，並擁抱每個希望教宗擁抱的人。「這對他更重要，我認為對我們也是如此，」隆巴迪說。
(美聯社／翻譯：魏國金）
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