A visit eagerly awaited by the faithful. Pope Francis completed a visit on Sunday, December 15 “historical” flash in Corsica with an interview with Emmanuel Macron after a giant mass, crowd baths and a plea for a secularism that is not “not static and fixed”. Here is what to remember from the visit of the sovereign pontiff.
The Pope welcomed by Bruno Retailleau on his arrival
In a wheelchair, with still a bruise on his face, the result of a fall when getting out of bed a few days ago, Francis arrived shortly before 9 a.m. for this visit, the first ever organized by a pope in Corsica. He was welcomed by the resigning Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, and a small group of Corsican children, to the sound of local music. “I welcome, on behalf of the government, the arrival of the Sovereign Pontiff Francis. Thank you (…) for this proof of affection for France. You are welcome to Corsica for this historic visit”wrote the minister on X.
A crowd bath in a popemobile
Warmly applauded, greeted by shouts “Long live the Pope!” (“long live the pope” in Corsica), François traveled through the city in a popemobile under a radiant sun, blessing many children on his way, a 108-year-old lady and… a pizza handed out by a local merchant. In the cathedral, Solène Pianacci, 44, said to herself “very happy”like the approximately 300 people who received the precious invitation: “I find it exceptional, I am moved, it’s a unique, magical moment, it’s a unique opportunity”explained this school director to AFP.
A giant mass organized in Ajaccio
In Ajaccio, at the Casone green theater, under a large statue of Napoleon, the Pope presided over a one and a half hour mass in front of a crowd of 7,500 people made up of faithful, bishops, politicians and members of the brotherhoods. The autonomist president of the Corsican Assembly, Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, opened the mass in Corsican.
Dressed in a pink cape characteristic of the third Sunday of Advent in the Catholic liturgy, the sovereign pontiff thanked Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo of Corsica “for this whole day during which [il s’est] felt at home”. Giant screens were installed in particular at Place Miot, a large esplanade facing the Mediterranean.
The Pope defends “dynamic” secularism
The Pope defended “a concept of secularism which is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic”at the end of a congress on popular religiosity in the Mediterranean. On this subject, the subject of recurring controversies in France, he pleaded for a secularism capable “to promote constant cooperation between civil and ecclesiastical authorities for the good of the whole community, each remaining within the limits of its competence and space”.
He also warned against “the risk” what “popular piety is used, instrumentalized by groups who intend to strengthen their identity in a polemical manner by fueling particularisms, oppositions, exclusionary attitudes”.
A meeting with Emmanuel Macron
The Pope took off from Ajaccio airport at 7:15 p.m. after speaking for 40 minutes with President Emmanuel Macron, who assured him that his visit was “a great honor for the city of Ajaccio, for Corsica and for France.”.
From this Mediterranean island, the Pope also expressed his “support” to the inhabitants of the French archipelago of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, facing “the tragedy” caused by Cyclone Chido which could have caused hundreds or even thousands of deaths, according to the authorities. Emmanuel Macron promised before the Pope “d'agir” faced with this catastrophe where “some have lost everything”.