It is after midday, this Thursday, November 21, when François Bustillo walks into the courtyard of the bishopric of Ajaccio. It's the big moment. The one where the cardinal must finally officially announce the arrival of Pope Francis in Corsica on Sunday December 15. And then no. “This day is important for ushe begins, in front of the local press. We are talking about the arrival of the pope. I can tell you that the project is there. The Pope should come. » Always this famous conditional which ends up making you smile. Always the same caution in official speeches, which quickly disappears in private discussions. The cause? “Some administrative and diplomatic adjustments”, warns Bishop Bustillo. We are waiting for the official green light from the Vatican and especially from the Elysée. After all, the sovereign pontiff remains a head of state and an official invitation from France must be sent to him.
It was therefore necessary to wait until Saturday for the thing to be officially confirmed by a press release from the Vatican. For his third trip to France, after Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille in 2023, Francis will therefore travel to Corsica – a historic first for the island, which has never received a visit from a pope – to attend a conference on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean”. The announcement put an end to several weeks of suspense, meetings and more or less hidden telephone calls. Now it's time for three intense weeks of preparations for what is already shaping up to be an exceptional event, awaited by the entire Catholic community of Corsica.
This visit had become an open secret. A Vatican delegation, led by the Apostolic Nuncio Celestino Migliore, visited the site on November 14 and 15 to assess the security of the premises. Around forty people, including members of state services, the diocese of Ajaccio, and the municipality, carried out the scouting to draw up the broad outlines of a program which was transmitted to the Vatican last weekend. for validation. Cardinal Bustillo, bishop of Ajaccio, was even ready to make the big announcement on Saturday, after a mass in Bastia, but his ardor had already been calmed by the Vatican agenda.
100,000 people expected in Ajaccio
The plans were finally validated on Tuesday, November 19, with the Pope's security services. The highlight of this visit will be the site of Casone, a tree-lined esplanade in Ajaccio, overlooked by the statue of Napoleon Bonaparte and which can accommodate some 8,000 faithful, where an open-air mass will be celebrated by the pope. This option, for its symbolic significance, was defended tooth and nail by the town, in particular by the first deputy, Alexandre Farina, the “Mr. Venue du pope” of the town hall.
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