Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flock

Pope Francis seated on a wheelchair boards his plane heading to Luxembourg on September 26, 2024 at Rome's Fiumicino airport.

Pope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals that have largely emptied the continent's magnificent cathedrals and village churches.