Francis spoke for about 25 minutes with the astronauts of the International Space Station. "Thank you for representing the whole human family in the great research project of this space station,” he told them.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Earth appears with "no borders, there is no conflict, it's just peaceful,” one astronaut told Pope Francis who today spoke via satellite link from Paul VI Hall with the crew of the International Space Station (ISS), some 400 kilometres above the Earth.
The pontiff referred to the six men as a “small glass palace”, “outside the world”, and asked them several questions.
What is man’s place in the universe? What sense is there in calling "love" the force that moves it? What drives people to become astronauts? How does one live in the Space Station? How important is working together in the missions? Answers came in Italian, Russian, and English.
Francis is not the first pontiff to speak to the ISS. Benedict XVI had done so 21 May 2011. In thanking the crew, the pope said “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts; this is the example you give us. Thank you for representing the whole human family in the great research project of this space station."