Pope says public farewell to Slovakia in Sastin

Pope Francis said a public farewell to Slovakia after completing the main mass of his four-day visit in Sastin before noon on Wednesday, thanking the bishops present, President Zuzana Caputova, the civil authorities and everyone who contributed towards preparing his trip. "Dear brothers and sisters, the time has come to say goodbye to your country. I thanked God in this Eucharist for being allowed to come into your midst and to end my pilgrimage in the devoted embrace of this people and by jointly celebrating this important religious and state holiday of your patron saint, Our Lady of Sorrows," said the pope at the end of the mass. After the final benediction, the pontiff laid a golden rose as a gift to the sculpture of Our Lady of Sorrows, which had been brought out from Sastin Basilica for the mass.