AJACCIO, Corsica — Through the first papal go to ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, Pope Francis referred to as for a dynamic type of laicism, selling the type of common piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between spiritual and civic society.
Francis appeared relaxed and energized through the one-day go to, simply two days earlier than his 88th birthday, nonetheless displaying a pale bruise from a fall every week in the past.
He steadily deviated from his ready homily throughout Mass on the out of doors La Place d’Austerlitz, remarking at one level that he had by no means seen so many kids as in Corsica — besides, he added, in East Timor on his latest Asian tour.
“Make children,” he implored. “They will be your joy and your consolation in the future.”
Earlier, on the shut of a Mediterranean convention on common piety, Papa Francescu, as he’s referred to as in Corsican, described an idea of secularity “that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic,” that may adapt to “unforeseen situations” and promote cooperation “between civil and ecclesial authorities.”
The pontiff mentioned expressions of common piety, together with processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary, “can nurture constructive citizenship” on the a part of Christians. On the similar time, he warned towards such manifestations being seen solely when it comes to folklore, and even superstition.
The go to to Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is likely one of the briefest of his papacy past Italy’s borders, nearly 9 hours on the bottom, together with a 40-minute go to with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organized the convention that introduced collectively some 400 members from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The 2-day assembly examined expressions of religion that usually happen exterior formal liturgies, comparable to processions and pilgrimages.
Typically particular to the locations the place they’re practiced, common piety in Corsica contains the cult of the Virgin Mary, recognized domestically because the “Madunnuccia,” which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was nonetheless below Genoa.
Corsica stands out from the remainder of secularized France as a very religious area, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations devoted to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members.
“It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities,’’ Bustillo told The Associated Press ahead of the visit. “There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect, because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility.”
The go to was awash in indicators of common piety. The pope was greeted by kids in conventional garb and was frequently serenaded by bands, choruses and singing troupes which are central to Corsican tradition from the airport, to the motorcade route, conference middle and cathedral. Hundreds stood alongside the roadside to greet the pontiff and extra waved from home windows.
Renè Colombani traveled with 2,000 others by ship from northern Corsica to Ajaccio, on the western coast, to see the pope.
“It is an event that we will not see again in several years. It may be the only time that the pope will come to Corsica. And since we wanted to be a part of it, we have come a long way,” Colombani mentioned.
The island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768, is positioned nearer to the Italian mainland than to France.
From the convention, the pope traveled to the Seventeenth-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to fulfill with clergy, stopping alongside the way in which on the statue of the Madunnuccia, the place he lit a devotional candle.
The pope celebrated Mass beneath a looming statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor whose armies in 1808 annexed the papal states and imprisoned two of Francis’ predecessors — Popes Pius VI and VII — earlier than being excommunicated and ultimately defeated on the battlefield. Hundreds packed the esplanade the place Napoleon is alleged to have performed as a toddler.
Francis was to fulfill privately with Macron on the airport earlier than departing for the 50-minute flight again to Rome.
They’re anticipated to speak in regards to the world’s crises, together with wars within the Center East and Ukraine, and surroundings and climate-related points, Macron’s workplace mentioned.
The pontiff pointedly didn’t make the journey to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 hearth. The go to to Corsica appears way more suited to Francis’ priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the “church of the peripheries.”
It’s Francis’ third journey to France, every time avoiding Paris and the protocols {that a} state go to entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an in a single day go to to take part in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to deal with the European Parliament and Council of Europe.
Corsica is dwelling to greater than 340,000 folks and has been a part of France since 1768. However the island has additionally seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist motion. Final 12 months, Macron proposed granting it restricted autonomy.