By Kim Young Shin

Pope Francis prayed for the upcoming NK-U.S. summit in Singapore to be held on June 12 during his address at the Sunday Angelus prayer on June 10.

The Angelus is one of the major papal events held every Sunday at noon in Saint Peter’s Square. During the event, the pope delivers his address to the gathered crowds.

“May the summit contribute to the development of a positive path to assure a future of peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the world,” said the pope. “Let us together invoke Our Lady, Queen of Korea, so that she may guide these talks.”

The pope has expressed his support for peace across the region several times throughout the year.

In February and March, he mentioned the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, respectively, and has prayed for peace.

Prior to the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, he blessed the meeting by saying, “This summit will be a favorable opportunity to initiate a transparent dialogue leading to reconciliation and union, in order to guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the entire world.”

Two days after the summit on April 29, he said, “The two leaders demonstrated their courageous commitment to start down the path of sincere dialogue for a Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons.”

ysk1111@korea.kr