“Papa Francisco Park, set in an area of ​​35.6 hectares, is a new leisure and social space that will, in the future, have food courts, playgrounds, a dog park, a skate park, paddle tennis courts and various sports facilities,” says the municipality of the district of Lisbon, which, alongside the capital, hosted major WYD events in its territory.

The decision to name the now-named Parque Tejo after Pope Francis was made by the municipality of Loures at the end of April (Lisbon did so in May).

On the occasion, the executive led by socialist Ricardo Leão indicated that the objective is to “pay homage to the legacy of proximity, social justice and care for the planet that Pope Francis represents and to perpetuate in the territory the memory of his visit to Loures in 2023”, in a space previously occupied by logistics containers.

The area, he recalled, “was forgotten for decades” and is now being returned to the population.

The note states that the inauguration, including a solemn blessing by the Patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério, will also be attended by Cardinal Américo Aguiar, president of the JMJ Foundation at the time of the Catholic event.

The ceremony marks the beginning of the Loures Festivities and will be followed, in the evening, by a show by singer Tony Carreira, at 10 pm, with free admission.

The same night will also be the show “Francisco, todos juntos na casa comum”, by Artelier? By TNR.

Located on land belonging to the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures, covering a total area of ​​around 100 hectares, Parque Tejo was created after a landfill site, the Beirolas landfill, was transformed into a green park as part of the preparations for WYD.

This riverside area of ​​the Tagus, north of Parque das Nações, in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures, hosted a night vigil and the final mass of the world meeting, with an estimated 1.5 million people attending, most of them young people.

Pope Francis died on 21 April, aged 88, after 12 years as pontiff.

Born in Buenos Aires on 17 December 1936, Francis was the first Jesuit and the first Latin American to become the leader of the Catholic Church.

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