Pope Francis and the Magi
The Three Wise Men (Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar) from the Puerto Rican town of Juana Diaz met this Wednesday with the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
The Three Wise Men of Juana Díaz
This is the second time that the Pope receives the Three Wise Men of Juana Díaz, who already met in 2004 with the late John Paul II.
Obsequies
The Three Wise Men presented Pope Francis with three works by Puerto Rican artists: the painting «Reyes Magos de Borikén» by painter Edward «Moyo» Cruz, a portrait of Pope Francis by Felipe Rivera, and the Three Wise Men carved in cedar by Adrián Rodríguez.
The Three Wise Men of the East
The Wise Men of the East (or Magi) is the name given in the Christian tradition to the learned priests in the Ancient East who, according to the Gospel of Matthew, came to pay homage to Jesus of Nazareth and present him with gifts of great symbolic richness: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Devotion to the Magi
Spain is one of the countries with the most deeply rooted in this celebration, which is widespread throughout the world. But one of the towns with the greatest devotion to the Three Wise Men of the East is Juana Díaz, on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, the town where today’s three visitors to the Vatican come from.
Other guests of the Pope
Together with the Magi, Pope Francis also received Larissa and Sergheii, wife and son of a Ukrainian prisoner of war and 140 scouts from L’Aquila. And director Abel Ferrara presented to the Pontiff his latest film about Padre Pio, reports the Vatican News website.
