Pope Francis honored the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, kissing the hands of six survivors in an emotional ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, and prayed at Israel’s Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial.
The memorial includes the names of hundreds of civilians killed in Palestinian and Arab terror attacks since 1851.
At the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Francis prayed before a crypt with ashes of victims and laid a wreath of yellow and white flowers in the "Hall of Remembrance."
Then one by one, he kissed the hands of six Holocaust survivors in a sign of humility and honor as he heard their stories and of loved ones killed by the Nazis during World War II.
"Never again, Lord, never again!" Francis said. "Here we are, Lord, shamed by what man — created in your own image and likeness — was capable of doing."
He repeated that phrase writing in the memorial's guest book, adding: "With shame for the fact that man made himself the owner of evil; with shame that man made himself into God and sacrificed his brothers. Never again!! Never again!! Francis. 5.26.2014."
Joseph Gottdenker, 72, said he briefly told the pope how he was saved as a boy by Catholics who hid him during the Holocaust. Gottdenker, who now lives in Canada, said he was more emotional than he expected to be when he met the pope.
Earlier Monday, Francis prayed at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, and left a note with the text of the "Our Father" prayer written in his native Spanish in a crack between the stones.
Francis' gesture at the hall and at the terrorism memorial — head bowed in prayer, right hand touching the stone — was the same he used a day earlier when he made an impromptu stop at the Israeli security fence surrounding Bethlehem. Israel says the massive concrete fence is necessary for its security and has prevented terror attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained to the pontiff Israel's rationale for building the fence while they were at the terrorism memorial, his office said.
Netanyahu asked Francis to add the memorial to his itinerary at the last minute, and showed him the section dedicated to the victims of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish association in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and wounded dozens.
The Argentinian-born Francis was an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires at the time of the attack and later became archbishop.
"I explained to the pope that constructing the fence prevented many more victims of Palestinian terror, which continues today," Netanyahu said.
Francis' intensely busy trip has been marked by his surprise invitation to the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to come to the Vatican next month to pray for peace. Both men accepted.
Francis and the outgoing Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke about the initiative Monday before planting an olive tree — a sign of peace — in the garden of Peres' official residence.
Francis praised Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, for his efforts to solve the conflict.
"You are known as a man of peace and a maker of peace, and I express my admiration and thankfulness for your attitude," Francis said.
"We would be honored to offer such a prayer either in our home or yours, in accordance with your kind offer," Peres said.
He said he believed Francis' visit would contribute to revitalizing the peace process with the Palestinians, "based on two states living in peace, a Jewish state, Israel, and an Arab state, Palestine."