He had already visited French territory twice since the start of his pontificate in 2013, to Strasbourg in 2014 and to Marseille in September 2023. This is Pope Francis’ third visit to France: it will be in Ajaccio on Sunday December 15, announces the Vatican. This will be the very first visit of a pope to Corsica, an island with a strong Catholic tradition.
“Responding to the invitation of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the country, Pope Francis will make an apostolic trip to Ajaccio on December 15, on the occasion of the closing of the Congress Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean,” said the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
One week after Notre-Dame de Paris
The Argentine Jesuit, who will celebrate his 88th birthday two days after this trip, will arrive in Ajaccio at 9 a.m. and leave shortly after 6 p.m., according to the program published by the Vatican. He will deliver two speeches and preside over a mass in the afternoon at the Casone green theater, before meeting with Emmanuel Macron.
This whirlwind visit is scheduled one week after the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral more than five years after the fire. Reopening for which François declined the official invitation launched by President Emmanuel Macron last year. “The star of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is Notre-Dame de Paris” and Francis did not want to “look away from him on this occasion”, declared the president of the conference of bishops of France , Mgr Eric de Moulins-Beaufort.
Effervescence on the Isle of Beauty
At the origin of this invitation to Corsica is Mgr François-Xavier Bustillo, 56 years old, very popular and media-friendly bishop of Ajaccio since 2021, who was made cardinal in September 2023 by Pope Francis. On Thursday, Mgr Bustillo unveiled the poster and the official website of the visit while explaining that “some administrative and diplomatic adjustments” were delaying the official confirmation from the Vatican.
This visit arouses great enthusiasm on the island, where all public services are in turmoil, and preparations have already begun. Many hotels in Ajaccio recorded a peak in reservations and the diocese launched an appeal for donations and volunteers to prepare this “historic” event.
Francis attached to the Mediterranean
From Malta to Sicily via the Greek island of Lesbos, Francis has visited the Mediterranean basin several times, a region which focuses several priorities of his pontificate, such as interreligious dialogue or the reception of migrants. But this is the first time that a pope has visited Corsica.
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The fourth largest island in the Mediterranean by area, it has some 350,000 inhabitants, 90% of whom are Catholic according to the local Church, and religious traditions such as processions remain very anchored.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
