George Onea

The pastoral, ecumenical and state three-day visit of Pope Francis in Romania came to an end on Sunday afternoon, in central Sibiu, from where the Pontiff took off with a TAROM aircraft to Vatican.

Pope Francis arrives on Sunday, the last day of his visit to Romania, in Blaj, where he will be holding the ceremony of beatification of seven martyred Greek-Catholic bishops on the Liberty Field, and also meet in the afternoon, in the "Barbu Lautaru" neighborhood, the Roma community in the same locality.

Pope Francis blessed on Saturday in Iasi the about 800 ailing people who waited for him in the 'Our Lady Queen of Iasi' Roman Catholic Cathedral, thanking them for bravely bearing their illness. "I thank you all who accompany them and I thank you, the sick, for bearing the illness," said the Pontiff, who also asked the faithful to pray for him.

President Klaus Iohannis visited the 'Step by Step' alternative education school in Bucharest this Saturday, on the International Children's Day; the students presented him with a cat made from recyclable materials. Iohannis said he very much liked the open and outspoken way of the children who learn at this education unit. "Let me start by congratulating you on the various occasions at hand.

Sumuleu Ciuc, June 1 /Agerpres/ - Pope Francis left the plateau of Sumuleu Ciuc after the Pontifical Liturgy on Saturday at the Marian sanctuary in the presence of almost 100,000 pilgrims.

Pope Francis presented on Saturday the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary in Sumuleu Ciuc with a Golden Rose, a gift the Popes have been offering since long to the world's major sanctuaries. The Pontiff placed the rose at the feet of the wonder-working statue of the Virgin Mary.

Bucharest, June 1 /Agerpres/ - Prime Minister Viorica Dancila states in a message sent on 1 June that Romania has valuable, talented and creative children, whose potential can be capitalized on by the common effort of the whole society.

The annual pilgrimage to Sumuleu Ciuc is part of the Transylvanian heritage, but it equally honors Romanian and Hungarian traditions and is the symbol of dialogue, unity and brotherhood, Pope Francis said in his message delivered on Saturday at the Sumuleu Ciuc Marian shrine.

President Klaus Iohannis announced on Thursday that he will not accept the nomination of Titus Corlatean as member of the Government. "Titus Corlatean will not be minister of anything," said Iohannis, mentioning that he sees the latter as "the engineer of the 2014 elections' disaster."AGERPRES(RO - author: George Onea, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)

Senate President Calin-Popescu Tariceanu told AGERPRES in an interview that a fair representation of Romania in the European Union is needed and that the party he is heading wants equal rights for all Union citizens, regardless of their origin country. "We don't criticize the Union, but the lack of democracy and the exaggerated influence of the bureaucracy from Brussels.