At the General Audience with Pope Francis on Wednesday, 30th October, a remarkable act of reconciliation took place. At the end of the Falklands conflict a statue of Our Lady of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, which been brought to the Islands by the Argentine forces for divine protection, was left behind in a church in the capital Port Stanley. It was subsequently brought to the Military Cathedral of St Michael and St George in Aldershot.
At the audience it was returned by Bishop Paul Mason, the Bishop to HM Forces to Bishop Santiago Olivera, his Argentine counterpart, who in return gave him a replica of the statue. Pope Francis met both bishops and blessed the two statues.
There were also about 25 Argentine veterans present and a priest of Westminster, Monsignor Phelim Rowland, a Falklands veteran and former Principal Chaplain to HM Forces. Monsignor Phelim commented that ‘it was a true act of reconciliation when you meet and embrace those who might have taken your life 37 years ago. Blessed indeed are the peacemakers.’
