Corsica welcomes Pope Francis with speeches, mass and historic firsts
Pope Francis has arrived on the French island of Corsica, where he will give two speeches in the capital Ajaccio and preside over a mass at the Casone open-air theatre, before meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.
The 87-year-old Argentine pontiff will be driven in his Popemobile through Ajaccio, where thousands of faithful are expected to throng the streets, with 2,000 extra security personnel on hand to manage the crowds.
Pope Francis's one-day trip to Corsica will be the first papal visit to the island, where 90 percent of the population of 350,000 is Catholic, according to the local Church, and where religious traditions remain deeply rooted.
The visit to was championed by the popular and media-friendly Bishop of Ajaccio, Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in September 2023.
"Corsica has been preparing to welcome him for a long time", Bustillo told French news agency AFP earlier this week. "The diocese is poor, the Corsican region is not rich" but thanks to the generosity of businesses and the faithful "we will pull off a welcome worthy of the pope", he said.
Anti-Semitic and anti-French graffiti condemned in Corsica
Renovations
New pews have just been delivered and yellow and white papal flags have been placed behind the altar.
(with AFP)
Read more on RFI English
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