Pope Francis arrived in Corsica on Sunday morning. After a short flight with Rome the papal plane landed at the Napoleon Bonaparte airport w Ajaccio.
This is the third visit of this pope to… Franceafter trips to Strasbourg and Marseille. An island in the Mediterranean Sea Francis is the first pope to visit in history.
In connection with the Pope's trip, the media emphasize that Francis went to Corsica a week after the solemn international inauguration ceremony in Paris Katery Notre Damerebuilt after the fire. The Pope was invited to this ceremony, but did not participate in it.
Pope Francis visits Corsica. This is the first such visit
Instead of an event organized on a grand scale with the participation of many world leaders Francis chose to visit an island in the Mediterranean Sea and regional congress on topic folk piety and meeting with the faithful.
– The Pope is here sensitive to the spiritual dimensionand also on this folk, human aspect in which people go out into the streets and express their faith without public indoctrination, but with great simplicity and joy – Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, bishop of the diocese of Ajaccio, told the Vatican media.
As the priest explained, the idea of organizing a Mediterranean meeting on the topic traditional forms of piety it follows that they are characteristic of most Churches in this region. He added that the papal trip to Corsica proves how great it is Peripheral territories are important to Francisas well as communities of believers rooted in traditions.
Pope Francis in Corsica. Visit plan
At the airport in Ajaccio the pope was welcomed by the ministers from the outgoing government of Michel Barnier: head of the Ministry of Interior Bruno Retailleau and minister of Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noel Barrot.
After a short conversation with the ministers, Francis went to see the remains of the 6th-century baptistery, which was discovered in 2005 during excavations prior to construction work. The next point of the pope's visit is: participation in the final session of the congress on topic folk piety in the Mediterranean region. Francis will speak during this event speech.
The pope will then go to local cathedral for a meeting with the clergy during the Angelus prayer. At 15:30 Franciszek will celebrate mass at Austerlitz Squareon which he stands Napoleon monument. At the end of the visit, the Pope will meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the airport. He will return to Rome around 19.
80 percent population of Corsica, approximately 350,000. people this Catholics. Corsica is the place folk services and various forms of worship and processions. It is also famous for its activities around three thousand religious brotherhoods and attachment to tradition. It's there over 430 parishes.