New tickets available for the Pope’s visit on May 18th. From 10 am on Thursday 2 May, through the website https://visitapapa.chiesadiverona.it/, other tickets will be made available to take part in the meetings with the Holy Father.
«There was a great participation – stated the bishop Msgr. Pompili – so much so that it sold out shortly after bookings were opened. However, we managed to obtain additional seats, both for the stadium and the Arena, occupying areas such as the lawn that were initially off-limits. We will therefore reopen registrations to respond to the numerous requests to participate that are reaching us.”
Furthermore, the hypothesis anticipated by Gianmarco Mazzi, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Culture, for a live Rai broadcast of the event in the Arena is being defined with ever greater certainty. “We are working to ensure that part of the meeting in the Arena on May 18th can be seen by everyone, through a television broadcast of about an hour. In particular, we will try to highlight the questions that the international witnesses present will ask the Saint Father”.
In fact, there will be numerous international guests including Vanessa Nakate, MahboubaSeraj, Joao Pedro Stedile; but also various Italian personalities such as Andrea Riccardi, Carlo Petrini and Carlo Rovelli.
After the meeting in the Arena, the Pontiff will reach the Montorio prison by car where he will give a speech to the penitentiary police officers, prisoners and volunteers. Lunch with the prisoners will follow: attention to the prisoners demonstrated by Pope Francis also in his recent visit to Venice.
As observed by Bishop Domenico: «I believe that the numerous visits to prison are for this Pope a space for expression of that humanity that too often we take for permanently lost and which instead, Francis reminds us, must still have possibilities». “I believe – added Pompili – that it is an important moment to get out of certain somewhat too narrow logics that make war an almost inevitable outcome and instead find the awareness that peace alone is what allows us to move forward”. “But peace must be prepared, much more than war” concluded the bishop of Verona, recalling the appointment with the “Arena of Peace”, which in the morning will also see the intervention of the Pontiff. A strong message will come from the Verona Arena and the city that everyone will be able to see and hear.
And then mass at the Bentegodi stadium at 3pm with at least 30 thousand people.
At 4.45pm Pope Francis will leave by helicopter for the Vatican.
