Pontifical visit to Ajaccio: why did the pope choose Corsica rather than Notre-Dame?

This morning, for Sunday mass, the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral in Ajaccio opened with a broad smile. “Imagining that one day a pope could come to Corsica remains inaccessible to me”smiles a faithful in the TF1 report above. “We’re all a little surprised anyway because it’s an important event that represents a lot”enthuses a young woman in the cathedral.

At this stage, a papal visit to Corsica is not officially confirmed by the Vatican. But the president of the Conference of Bishops of France raised this possibility this Sunday, which had been rumored for some time. “The announcement has not yet been made, it depends on the Holy See to make it completely official”recalled Eric de Moulins-Beaufort during a press conference in Lourdes, mentioning the date of December 15.

The pontificate of the Pope is the peripheries and the simplest, most humble attitudes of this world

Father Frédéric Constant, vicar general of the Church of Corsica

The date is important. For the first time in history, a pope comes to Corsica and he chooses to do so just eight days after the grand reopening ceremonies of Notre-Dame de Paris. “The pontificate of the Pope is the peripheries and the simplest, most humble attitudes of this world”estimates Father Frédéric Constant, vicar general of the Church of Corsica. “So if he chooses, if he decides to come to the heart of this little people, it is because there is something that interests him”continues the priest.

Even if it means disappointing some, the pope thumbs his nose at the grandiose ceremony that is planned for the reopening of Notre-Dame. “I will not come to Paris, I will not come to Paris”he assured journalists last September, without giving the reason. “He in no way wants to serve as a foil and he also doesn't want to have the impression of being trapped. He doesn't take orders from anyone, this pope, and he doesn't want to be in the middle of a hundred heads of state and not controlling the situation”according to specialist journalist Caroline Pigozzi.

To understand this choice, we have to go back a year. In September 2023 in Rome, the pope creates 21 new cardinals, including the bishop of Ajaccio, François Bustillo. He would have been impressed by the approximately thousand Corsicans who had made the trip, and gave his announcement a standing ovation.

On December 15, the Pope would come to close a conference organized by the Corsican cardinal, on popular religiosity through the devotions of the brotherhoods. For the Bishop of Limoges Pierre-Antoine Bozo, it is the theme of this conference which motivated the pope, and not Corsica itself.

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Nothing is official, however, preparations have begun, and 100,000 people are expected. The hotels are already full, and plans are being made to accommodate visitors on boats in Ajaccio Bay. The pope would celebrate an outdoor mass, and several locations are under consideration. It could be held in Piazza Casone, in the shadow of the statue of Napoleon. One thing is certain, that day, the place will be as monitored and secure as the square in front of Notre-Dame de Paris for the reopening.