It is after noon this Thursday, November 21, when François Bustillo enters the courtyard of the bishopric of Ajaccio. It’s the big moment. The one in which the cardinal must finally officially announce the arrival of Pope Francis in Corsica on Sunday, December 15. And then no. “This day is important for us.It begins before the local press. We are talking about the arrival of the Pope. I can tell you that the project is there. The Pope should come. » Always that famous conditional that ends up making you smile. Always the same caution in official speeches, which quickly disappears in private discussions. Cause? “Some administrative and diplomatic adjustments”, warns Mons. Bustillo. We are waiting for the official green light from the Vatican and especially the Elysée. After all, the sovereign pontiff remains head of state and an official invitation from France must be sent to him.
It was therefore necessary to wait until Saturday for a press release from the Vatican to officially confirm the issue. On his third trip to France, after Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille in 2023, Francis will travel to Corsica – a historic first for the island, which has never received a visit from a Pope – to attend a conference on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean”. The announcement put an end to several weeks of uncertainty, meetings and more or less hidden phone calls. Now comes three intense weeks of preparation for what is already shaping up to be an exceptional event, awaited by the entire Catholic community of Corsica.
This visit had become an open secret. A Vatican delegation, led by Apostolic Nuncio Celestino Migliore, visited the site on November 14 and 15 to assess the site’s security. About forty people, including members of the state services, the diocese of Ajaccio and the municipality, carried out the exploration to develop the main lines of a program that was transmitted to the Vatican last weekend for validation. Cardinal Bustillo, bishop of Ajaccio, was even ready to make the big announcement on Saturday, after a mass in Bastia, but his ardor had already been calmed down by the Vatican agenda.
100,000 people are expected in Ajaccio
The plans were finally validated on Tuesday, November 19, by the Pope’s security services. The highlight of this visit will be the site of Casone, a tree-lined esplanade in Ajaccio, dominated by the statue of Napoleon Bonaparte and with capacity for about 8,000 faithful, where the Pope will celebrate an open-air mass. This option, due to its symbolic meaning, was defended tooth and nail by the city, in particular by the first deputy, Alexandre Farina, “Mr. Venue du pope” of the town hall.
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