“Evviv'u papa!”* Renowned for his proximity to the “peripheral” areas of the world, Pope Francis treated himself this Sunday, in Ajaccio, to one of those crowd baths that he knows he is fond of. From the start of his stroll in the popemobile, around 9:30 a.m., until the holy mass celebrated on the Place du Casone, in all, 40,000 people attended the unprecedented pastoral visit of a sovereign pontiff to Corsica. A great turnout for the capital of the island and its 75,000 inhabitants, however far from the 100,000 visitors expected.
But if on the route taken by the Holy Father and bordered by 7.5 kilometers of barriers, the crowd could appear scattered, it was no less animated by deep fervor. During this lightning visit on a human scale, Pope Francis was able to commune with numerous spectators, blessing in passing around thirty babies that members of his guard were going to collect from the arms of their parents to bring them within reach of the sovereign pontiff. Expected at the San Ghjuvà paleo-Christian baptistery for a first stop, the pope with difficult mobility even got up to place his hand on the forehead of the dean of Ajaccio, aged 108, whose wheelchair had been raised up to 'to the Holy Father, standing in his popemobile. Widely applauded by the hundred people who were authorized to enter the area, the Pope also distributed Vatican rosaries to many confreres, children and even the mayor (Horizons) of Ajaccio, Stéphane Sbraggia, during a express stop in front of the town hall and the statue of Madunnuccia, Our Lady of Mercy, patron saint of the imperial city.
