The Pope arrived in Corsica for a historic lightning visit

Pope Francis arrived in Corsica on Sunday, where he will notably greet the many faithful of this French Mediterranean island in a popemobile before an open-air mass and an interview with French President Emmanuel Macron.

A week after having snubbed the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, despite the invitation of the Head of State, the Pope from Rome arrived at 8:50 a.m. at Ajaccio airport, under a blue sky.

He was welcomed there by the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau and a small group of Corsican children, to the sound of Corsican music.

In the streets of the main city of this Mediterranean island of 350,000 inhabitants, 80% of whom are Catholic, according to the Vatican, faithful began to gather at dawn to see the sovereign pontiff.

Karine Nicolaï, 50, got up at 4 a.m. to take a train. “It’s great, frankly, he’s never been to Corsica! Never, never, never! It’s historic!”, she confided to AFPTV.

In another street, the faithful had also been on war footing since 6:30 a.m., like Vanina Poli, 57, who came in a bus “already full” at 6:05 a.m.: “Seeing the Pope is a consecration (…) , I want him to see this incredible fervor of Corsica!” His companion René Courbis agrees: “In Corsica, whether you are baptized or not, religious events are important. Everyone goes to the procession!”

The pope must take a walkabout in a popemobile on the seafront before going to the convention center to close a conference on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean”, then a prayer at the cathedral at 11:20 a.m. and a mass at 3:30 p.m. is expected to bring together 9,000 people at the Casone green theater. He will leave shortly after 6 p.m., according to the Holy See, after an interview at the airport with Emmanuel Macron.

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.

The pope was invited to Corsica by Mgr François-Xavier Bustillo, 56, very popular and media-friendly bishop of Ajaccio, whom he had created cardinal in September 2023.

“The diocese is poor, the Corsica region is not rich” but thanks to the generosity of businesses and the faithful “we will achieve a welcome worthy of the Pope,” he told AFP.

Thanks also to French “national solidarity”, said the prefect of Corsica, Jérôme Filippini, who estimates the cost of this visit of a few hours at “several million euros”.

On the outskirts of the cathedral, a colorful street art-style fresco, created by a collective of Ajaccian artists, represents François against a backdrop of stained glass windows and a colorful map of Corsica.

The Argentine Jesuit, who will celebrate his 88th birthday two days after this trip, will give two speeches during the day.

“He is in good shape, happy to come,” assured François-Xavier Bustillo, specifying that “he is not coming here to play politics, he is coming to be a pastor among his people.”

For this third Sunday of Advent, the clergy will adorn themselves in 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.

From Malta to Sicily via the Greek island of Lesbos, Francis has visited the Mediterranean basin on several occasions, which concentrates several priorities of his pontificate, such as interreligious dialogue or the reception of migrants.

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.