We have the pope ! Ajaccio and the whole of Corsica are preparing to experience a historic day, this Sunday, December 15, with the arrival of the sovereign pontiff on the island.
Pope Francis is making a historic visit to Corsica on Sunday, where many Catholic faithful are expected in the streets of Ajaccio for a day where the sovereign pontiff will combine a stroll in a popemobile and an open-air mass before an interview with President Macron.
A week after snubbing the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris despite the invitation of the head of state, François will be welcomed at 9 a.m. 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.
Then, the pope will go to the convention center 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 p.m., according to the Holy See, after an interview at the airport with Emmanuel Macron.
“For the first time in history, a Pope is coming to the island, it’s extraordinary,” enthuses Cathy Brenti, 72, a Frenchwoman who came specially from Rome for the occasion to AFP: “ It’s such a historic event. We never get tired of seeing the Pope!”
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”.
“No politics”
Pleading for Ajaccio to remain “an open and lively city”, the prefect assured that shops and the Christmas market will be open from midday.
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.
This arrival “is a very beautiful thing and I think that it is awaited by a lot of people, it will be a great event”, underlines to AFP Océane Meynot, a 26-year-old police officer.
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 does not come here to play politics, he comes 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.
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