The subject was invited from the plenary assembly of the bishops of France, which is held from November 5 to 10 in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), to the corridors of the Elysée. It was impossible to avoid: Pope Francis should come to Corsica, more precisely to Ajaccio, around December 14 and 15. The Holy Father will participate in a conference entitled “Popular religiosity in the Mediterranean”. His third trip to France, after Strasbourg, in 2014, and Marseille, in 2023, is a historic first for the island, which has never received a visit from a pope. Enough to create general enthusiasm? Not really.
Already, because a slight doubt continues to hover over this coming. “We are waiting for an official announcement and especially the program, knowing from experience that, until the official announcement, everything is possible and nothing can be considered certain”comments a source close to the Vatican. The state of health of the Argentine pope, aged 87, remains an element to take into account. If the city of Ajaccio, the diocese and the prefecture do not officially confirm the arrival, everyone is already preparing, with a weekly steering committee. “If I were you, I would already take my plane tickets”laughs a relative of Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, the media bishop of Ajaccio, where he has exercised his ministry since 2021.
Monsignor Bustillo is the great architect of this coming of the pope to the island. “He established a special relationship with the sovereign pontiff”estimate relatives who accompanied the man of the Church to Rome, on September 30, 2023, during his creation to the rank of cardinal. Eight hundred islanders then made the trip with their “Bishop” (“bishop”) in three chartered planes, transporting in particular the ban and the backbenches of local elected officials and brotherhoods of the island. “Pope Francis was impressed that such a large delegation was accompanying him and said to him: “Did you come with your people?” »remember two participants.
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Since that day, the idea of organizing a papal trip to the island was born, they believe they know… In the heart of summer, members of the Vatican security service went to the imperial city, making connections first links. According to several sources, teams from the Vatican and the Elysée will come to the island the week of November 11 for security adjustments before the official announcement by Cardinal Bustillo on November 16.
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