Pope Francis in the city of San Marco. Venice is preparing to welcome, tomorrow morning, Pope Bergoglio, for the first time in the city 11 years after his election as Pontiff. A long-awaited visit by the community of faithful of the Venetian church and strongly desired by the patriarch Francesco Moraglia who will accompany the Pontiff throughout the day: the visit to the Giudecca prison and the Vatican pavilion of the Biennale, the meeting with young people at the Salute, the solemn moment of mass in Piazza San Marco, in front of around 10 thousand faithful. The last time a pontiff was in the city dates back to 8 May 2011, with mass celebrated in front of 200 thousand people in San Giuliano park.
The interactive map of the visit
Instructions. Below is an interactive map that you can “navigate” with your smartphone fingers or with your computer mouse. By clicking on the red placeholders the individual place and time sheets will open; the cards can also be seen by clicking on the symbol at the top right
Pope Francis’ visit to Venice will last five hours, from 8am to 1pm, and will begin with visit to the Giudecca women’s prison and meeting with the inmates. An hour later, after reaching it with a patrol boat, Bergoglio will be there Health for the meeting with the 1500 young people of Venice and the Dioceses of the Veneto who, in recent weeks, have prepared for the meeting and for the speech of the Holy Father to whom, as a symbol of Venice, they will donate a wooden forcola. The same young people will then accompany Bergoglio, aboard his popemobile, across the pontoon bridge until arriving in Piazza San Marco.
Solemn mass at San Marco
It is here that, at 11 am, the solemn mass will be held, from the stage mounted on the side of the Correr museum, where Bergoglio will go up not before having made a couple of laps in the Popemobile to greet the ten thousand faithful present. An armored square for the occasion, to which those accredited to attend the mass will be able to enter from 7 to 9, through the five identified gates where there will be checks with the metal detector. With the obligation, for everyone, to sit from 10.
By patrol boat he will return to Giudecca, where the meeting is scheduled for 1pm helicopter taking off from the prison square. After an hour and a half of flight he will land at the Vatican heliport. The Venetian visit is the first of a series of three stages which, in the coming weeks, will see the Pontiff, tired in body but not in spirit, at North East. On Saturday 18 May Francesco will be in Verona, to meet the faithful at the Arena, and then at the Montorio prison. Finally, on Sunday 7 July, Pope Bergoglio will reach Trieste for the closing of the social week of Italian Catholics.
