Pope Francis sent a touching video message to a 17-year-old Portuguese woman who is suffering from a serious illness. The girl had written him a letter expressing her affection and also her sadness at not being able to attend the next World Youth Day in Lisbon

Felipe Herrera-Espaliat – Vatican City

Edna is 17 years old and knows that she will soon meet God, as explained to her by the doctor who has been taking care of her serious illness for eight years. He also communicated this to Pope Francis in a letter he sent him yesterday, Thursday 22 June. “The doctor said he didn’t know when I would meet Jesus, but that it would be soon,” he said with a calmness that moved the Holy Father.

Although she has registered to take part in the next World Youth Day, which will take place in Lisbon from August 1 to 6, she confided to the Pope that it will not be possible to accompany him physically. Edna, eager to meet the Pope, experiences this situation with pain, but also with a genuine and sincere faith and a benevolent smile, as testified by those who have been visiting her for more than a decade in the parish of San Massimiliano Kolbe, on the edge of the Lusitanian capital.

“When I found out that the day would be held in Portugal I was very happy because every time I see the Pope’s speech on TV I feel good, as if I didn’t have an illness that would prevent me from to take part in World Youth Day,” emphasizes Edna in a letter. He then adds that he wanted to write to Francesco to let him know “how important he is to me and my family”.

Young Edna, author of the letter

“Thank you” six times

Pope Francis’ video message to all the boys and girls who have been working for months to make the great youth event in Lisbon possible: “Generosity is not learned…”

As soon as he read the lines written by Edna from the hospital, the Pope decided to respond with a video message lasting just over a minute, in which he repeated the word “thank you” six times:

“Edna, I received your letter, thank you! Thank you for your tenderness and thank you for the peace you have in your heart. This peace is like a seed planted in the hearts of all of us who see you and speak to you. Thank you very much! I accompany you on this journey that you are on. I accompany you and I know that you will be well received. I accompany you, pray for you, pray with you and look to Jesus who is always waiting for us. Thank you!” said the Holy Father to her.

Edna asked the Pope to pray for her and Francis asked her in the video message to do the same for him. Complicity in prayer, sealed by the final blessing: “And now I give you my blessing to give you strength on this path as well.”

Edna’s letter to the Pope

Banks in Russia increased the exchange rate for foreign currency. Russian stocks plummet. Airfare prices abroad are exploding.

The armed uprising of notorious Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is already making its mark on Russian financial and currency markets. On Saturday night, the big banks, which like other companies were hard hit by the war and sanctions, raised the exchange rate of foreign currencies and brought down the value of the ruble. While the central bank’s official exchange rate for a ruble on Friday was 84.08 rubles per dollar and 91.49 rubles per euro, the Russian currency dipped below 100 rubles against the two currencies at some banks on Saturday. . Rosbank, for example, charged 105 rubles for a dollar and 115 rubles for a euro, according to the Ria Novosti news agency. Industry service Banki.ru reports up to 200 rubles per dollar seen.

This brings back memories of the first few days after the start of the war in late February 2023, when the currency plummeted (officially at the time to over 120 rubles per dollar and over 130 rubles per euro) – before plummeting in the middle of the last year due to the strengthened external trade balance surplus.

The Wagner revolt also had a direct effect on the stock exchange. Shares of several companies collapsed on Friday night. That of the En+ utility or the Yandex Internet browser at over four percent, many others in the 3.5 percent range.

However, the accident gained momentum on Saturday morning. Data from Tinkoff Investizij app, quoted by financial news service Frank Media, show that Sberbank shares fell by 8.5%. In the second largest group in the Russian oil industry, Lukoil, it is almost twelve percent. In Yandex, more than minus 13 percent, in Gazprom, more than minus four percent. The broker then stopped trading on the OTC market.

Airfare prices soar

Russian-language business outlet The Bell reports that prices for airfare abroad, where Russians can still travel visa-free, soared on Saturday. The newspaper Kommersant calculates that prices for matches on Sunday increased from 2.5 to five times. A direct air ticket to the Armenian capital Yerevan for Saturday night costs more than 200,000 rubles, according to data from search engine Aviasales. After Istanbul, more than 130,000 rubles have to be forked out. With a transfer and a travel time of up to two days, you pay between a good 30,000 and almost 100,000 rubles. A plane ticket to Dubai, the favorite destination of wealthy Russians, currently costs 350,000 rubles (about 3,500 euros).