The sovereign pontiff will be in Corsica this Sunday on the occasion of a precisely planned historic visit. He will notably combine a stroll in a popemobile and an open-air mass before an interview with Emmanuel Macron.
Pope Francis will travel to Corsica on Sunday on the occasion of a historic visit, where the Catholic faithful are expected in large numbers in the streets of Ajaccio for a day where the sovereign pontiff will mix strolls in a popemobile and open-air mass before talk with President Macron.
A week after snubbing the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris despite the invitation from the head of state, Francis will be welcomed at 9:00 a.m. (08:00 GMT) at the city's airport with children's songs in Corsican.
He will then enjoy a walkabout in a popemobile on the seafront of Ajaccio, the main city of this Mediterranean island of 350,000 inhabitants, 80% of whom are Catholic, according to the Vatican.
An airport interview with Macron
Then, the Pope will go to the Palais des Congrès to close a conference on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean», before a mass at 3:30 p.m. which should bring together 9,000 people at the Casone green theater. He will leave shortly after 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT), according to the Holy See, after an interview at the airport with Emmanuel Macron.
The Argentine Jesuit, who will celebrate his 88th birthday two days after this trip, will give two speeches during the day. “He's in good shape, happy to come», assured AFP Mgr François-Xavier Bustillo, 56 years old, very popular and media-friendly bishop of Ajaccio, that he had been created cardinal in September 2023. And to specify that “he does not come here to play politics, he comes to be a pastor among his people».
The Pope was invited to the Isle of Beauty by Mgr François-Xavier Bustillo. “The diocese is poor, the Corsica region is not rich” but thanks to the generosity of businesses and faithful“we are going to achieve a welcome worthy of the Pope“, he said. Thanks also to ““national solidarity” of French, specified the prefect of Corsica, Jérôme Filippini, who estimates at “several million euros» the cost of this visit of a few hours.
The symbolism of colors
The visit was announced late, at the end of November, forcing us to work extra hard to accommodate the tens of thousands of people expected. Yellow and white banners (the papal colors) in the streets, the facade of the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption cathedral repainted, massive parking bans, 2,200 reinforcements deployed for security: the city has prepared.
For this third Sunday of Advent, the clergy will adorn themselves with specific colors: “We will be in pink (…) a bright color which will remind us of the journey between the purple of Advent and the white of Christmas», Explains Father Georges Nicoli, priest of the Notre-Dame de Lourdes parish in Bastia.
The head of the Catholic Church has already visited French territory twice since the start of his pontificate in 2013, to Strasbourg in 2014 and to Marseille in September 2023, but has never made a state visit there. . This trip to Corsica will be his 47th international trip since his election and the third in 2024.
