Final preparations for the arrival of Francis tomorrow, Sunday 28 April, in the lagoon city which has donated three Popes to the Church and welcomed as many among its floating streets. Five hours during which the Pontiff will visit the Giudecca women’s prison, which houses the Pavilion of the Holy See, he will meet the young people at “La Salute” with whom he will cross the bridge to San Marco and celebrate Mass in the square in front of the majestic Basilica of the patron saint
Salvatore Cernuzio – Sent to Venice
Among the streets of Venice crowded with tourists – those who “will never be missing here”, as the residents say without hiding a hint of impatience – whose flow not even the activation of the access ticket two days ago has managed to discourage ( according to the Municipality, they exceeded the threshold of 23 thousand paying units in forty-eight hours), every now and then you can see the smiling face of Pope Francis. In the midst of gondolas and vaporettos, shops with the Carnival masks of Pantalone, Rosaura and Colombina, and the buildings with decorative architecture that confirm the definition of the lagoon city as an “open-air museum”, flyers and signs appear with the image of the Pontiff to announce his visit tomorrow, Sunday 28 April, accompanied by the program and chosen motto “Remain in the love of Christ”.
The Mass in front of the “Golden Church”
Words, inspired by the evangelical page of the branch and the vine, which also stand out on a blow-up placed to the left of the stage until yesterday still under construction on the opposite side of Piazza San Marco, exactly in front of the Saint’s Basilica, the majestic “Church of ‘gold’, next to the Doge’s Palace, one of the best-known symbols of Venice and of Veneto itself in the world. In this architectural quadrant of unattainable beauty, already a place for concerts thanks to the natural acoustics, the salty smell of the canals pricks the nostrils while the sound of the orchestra reaches the ear, cheering up the breakfasts and aperitifs of the customers of the “Gran Caffè”, frequented in the past by figures such as Casanova, Mozart, Goethe, Byron. Here Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at 11 am, followed by the recitation of the Regina Coeli: it will be the culminating event of the Pope’s visit, the fourth Pontiff in the “Serenissima” after Paul VI (1972), John Paul II (1985), Benedict XVI (2011 ); first, however, to go to Venice to visit the Art Biennale.
The flyer of the Pope’s visit to Venice
Prisoners and artists
And starting from the Biennale, Pope Sunday in Venice will unfold, or rather, starting from the Pavilion of the Holy See entitled “With my eyes”, set up according to a choice that is as novel as it is suggestive in the Giudecca prison, one of the four women’s institutions in Italy, on the island of the same name. Right in the internal square of the House of Reclusion, the Pope’s helicopter will land at 8 am, welcomed by the patriarch Francesco Moraglia, together with the authorities of the institute, a former monastery until the 12th century, which later became a reception place managed by the nuns and a refuge for prostitutes “converted to God from the baseness of vices”, as the Latin plaque on the facade states. A work so recognized as to give its name to the street onto which the heavy green entrance gate overlooks: Calle delle Convertite. The exterior is, at the moment, dominated by Maurizio Cattelan’s mural, entitled Father (Father), which depicts the dirty and battered soles of two enormous feet in shades of gray. Meanwhile, preparations are underway inside for the meeting of Pope Francis in the courtyard with the administrative staff, the Penitentiary Police officers, the volunteers and 80 inmates serving a long sentence, who have collaborated in the creation of some works and, two in the time, have accompanied visitors to the Pavilion since the inauguration in recent days. More than a meeting, it will be an embrace from the Bishop of Rome to women – young, old, mothers, grandmothers, who also learn to sew and mend during the years of imprisonment – to reiterate to them the hope of feeling forgiven by God and moving forward towards recovery, rebirth, restart. Once the meeting is over, the Pope will reach the church of the Magdalene, the “chapel” still in the prison complex, to meet – together with Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, as well as curator of the Pavilion of Holy See – the artists participating in the Venice Art Biennale.
A glimpse of Venice
On a patrol boat to go and meet the young people
The first and only journey by water (many Venetians hoped to see the Pope in a gondola) will take place for the next appointment: Jorge Mario Bergoglio will reach Santa Maria della Salute by patrol boat, while the traditional rowing boats concentrated on the stretch of water in front of the “Magazzini del Sale” on the Giudecca Canal will make an “alaremi”, the greeting reserved for the highest authorities, as the procession passes.
At Santa Maria della Salute, what the Venetians simply call “La Salute”, a baroque basilica born as a votive offering to the city’s patron Madonna for the liberation of the plague in the 17th century, the Pope will meet 1,600 young people from all over the Triveneto area. The appointment will take place outside, in the Punta della Dogana area, from where the basilica – whose facade is under restoration – stands out in the panorama of the San Marco Basin and the Grand Canal. At this time, the setting up of the space for the meeting is being completed: a stage located exactly in front of the landing stages of the vaporettos that float along the canal together with the traditional gondolas with tourists on board.
The Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute where the Pope will meet 1,600 young people from the Triveneto area
The walk on the bridge with boys and girls
The appointment with the young people will return what will probably be one of the most representative images of the entire visit of the Argentine Pope to Venice: Francis in the Popemobile who, accompanied by boys and girls, moves to San Marco crossing a long floating bridge – the same used for the Venice Marathon – up to the Giardinetti del Doge area. An entirely Venetian tradition is that of building bridges on the occasion of celebrations, such as that of the Redeemer, or other important anniversaries. A symbolic gesture in this case of the Pope’s accompaniment of young people towards the paths of life, with the exhortation always to “go” and never remain “sitting” let alone “falling”.
Praying over the relics of Saint Mark
Having arrived on the pier where the column with the winged lion stands, the Pope will then go to San Marco for Mass, in which around 9 thousand faithful will participate. Once the celebration is over, Francis will follow the private visit to the Basilica to venerate the relics of Saint Mark, that is, the body stolen from Alexandria in Egypt in the year 828, traces of which were lost for centuries until its reappearance, miraculous according to the Marcian legend, on 25 April 1094 during the consecration of the basilica dedicated to him, built as a tomb specifically to guard his remains. Therefore, an intimate and prayerful final moment, set in the midst of many public events in the most scenic city in Italy which welcomed and also donated Popes to the universal Church: two saints, Pius X and John XXIII, and a blessed, John Paul I Even their faces can be seen among the streets, shops and parishes, as if watching over the Lagoon.
Setting up the stage for the Pope’s Mass
