THE POPE IN VENICE: THE STORY OF A HISTORICAL DAY
Five hours but full of events and full of meaning. It was the day of the visit to Venice of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.
A long-awaited and heartfelt day because a Pope had not arrived in the lagoon for 13 years. The last one was Pope Benedict XVI in May 2011.
And 13 years later, here is Bergoglio, for the first time in Veneto as Pope.
The Holy Father landed in Venice at 8 o’clock and immediately went to the Giudecca Women’s Prison where the Vatican pavilion is set up as part of the Art Biennale. And this in itself is history, because never before had a Pope visited him.
But the moment was enriched by the touching meeting with the inmates, who act as visitor guides at the Pavilion.
Bergoglio addressed the topic of prisons and their problems: overcrowding, lack of resources, violence. But places that must also be places of rebirth.
Immediately afterwards the Pontiff greeted the artists who created the Holy See Pavilion, and sent important messages to them too.
And then the meeting at the Madonna della Salute with the young people from the parishes. The Holy Father invited them to get moving, get up from the sofa and be protagonists.
Then, across a pontoon bridge set up for the occasion, Pope Francis reached Piazza San Marco where almost ten thousand people had been waiting for him for hours. And this was the peak moment of the Holy Father’s visit, the moment in which the Pope symbolically embraced the entire city of Venice: the greeting in Pope Mobile to the faithful and then the Holy Mass celebrated from the stage set up in front of the Correr museum. With him also the Patriarch of Venice Francesco Moraglia, who before the end of the Celebration thanked Bergoglio and announced that he will make eight mini accommodations available for the reintegration of women in difficulty who are undertaking a recovery journey. The Pope, however, gave the Patriarch a chalice.
Finally, after the Regina Coeli, the private visit to the Basilica of San Marco to venerate the relics of the Evangelist. Finally, Pope Francis left for the Vatican.
Only five hours but full of meaning before returning to Veneto on May 18th when he will be in Verona.
