Pope Francis Establishes 'World Children's Day'... First Event to Be Held in Rome Next Year

Enacted in Response to a Request from a 9-Year-Old Child

Pope Francis has declared May 25 and 26 next year as the 1st World Children's Day.

The Vatican's official media, Vatican News, reported this on the 8th (local time).

On this day, the Pope said, "The first World Children's Day will be held in Rome on May 25-26 next year," adding, "I am pleased to announce this." He also explained, "This plan is the answer to the question of 'what kind of world we want to leave to the growing children,' and like Jesus, we will also place children at the center and take care of them."

Pope Francis [Photo by Yonhap News]

This announcement came after the Pope appeared on the Vatican News podcast last July and responded to a proposal from a 9-year-old child named Alessandro, who left a voice message asking for a 'day for children.' At that time, the Pope said, "It's a beautiful idea," and "I will think about it and find a way."

The Vatican expects that thousands of children from around the world will visit Rome when the 1st World Children's Day is held next year. The Vaticanheld an event called 'Let Us Learn from Boys and Girls' last month, which was attended by about 7,500 children from around the world.

Meanwhile, the Pope showed signs of recovery in health on this day. Two weeks ago, he suffered from acute bronchitis and showed signs of deteriorating health, such as having his prayers and messages read by an aide, but on this day, he only coughed briefly and showed no other symptoms.