Venice welcomes Pope Francis

By Deborah Castellano Lubov - Venice

Here in Venice, appreciated globally as one of the most loved and iconic cities, which evokes images of gondolas and majestic canals, Pope Francis will be making a short, but intense one-day pastoral visit tomorrow.

It marks the Pope's first visit to the Italian city that draws so many international tourists, that just this week it had to introduce the world's first tourist entry fee, of 5 Euro, to curb overcrowding.

Arriving and departing by helicopter, and moving around by boat, Pope Francis will embark on his first visit outside of Rome since the start of the year, marking the first of several pastoral visits he has planned in Italy in the next three months. It also falls ahead of the Holy Father's longest visit, thus far in his pontificate, when he will make a four-country Apostolic Journey throughout Asia and Oceania in September.

Home to Popes for unprecedented occasion

This city, from which three Patriarchs of Venice were elected Pope in the 20th Century, welcomes Pope Francis for an unprecedented moment, as this will be the first time a Pope visits the Venice Art Biennial. The Biennial began in 1895, and this year, is in its 60th edition. The Holy See's participation in the major international art event dates back to 2013.

The Pope will be visiting the Holy See Pavilion housed in the Giudecca's women's prison facility, which bears the title “With My Own Eyes,” and is dedicated to the theme of human rights and people living on the margins of society. His helicopter will land within the facility on Venice's Giudecca island, which visitors (other than those arriving by helicopter), can only reach by boat.

Full agenda in lagoon city

In the prison, the Pope will greet and address detainees individually. This moment will be sure to conjure memories of the Pope's quality time with female prisoners, less than a month ago, on Holy Thursday, when he chose to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Rebbibia women's prison in Rome, washing their feet.

Subsequently, the Pope next will meet with artists, many associated with the Pavilion, in the prison chapel, less than a year after addressing artists in the Sistine Chapel, and then meet with young people from Venice and Veneto, a moment that will stir memories of the Pope's words with young people throughout the World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, last August.

The Holy Father will then make his way over, on a provisional bridge constructed on boats, to St. Mark's Square, where he will celebrate Mass, pray the Regina Coeli, and enter St. Mark's Basilica to venerate the relics of the Saint, whose feast day was two days ago, 25 April, before boarding a patrol boat to the St. Elena island, where he will board a helicopter to return to the Vatican.

Following in footsteps

Despite some clouds and drizzle today, the entry fees for the city, and some alerts this week about whether some concrete had crumbled from the Bell Tower in St. Mark's Square (which officials deny as they reassure that there is no danger), all who have flocked here to see the Pope, or were already here for holiday, are very excited, whether they realized he would be visiting or not, despite any challenges it may pose to their movement, or Sunday.

In St. Mark's Square, especially, the joy was palpable, with rehearsals, choirs, and musicians rehearsing ahead of tomorrow's Mass, and all the seats ready for the faithful. One could overhear some tourists who were seated with aperitivo, asking their servers questions about the Pope's visit in Venice, and expressing delight that they happened to be in the city at this time.

While several recent Popes have visited Venice, the city sees each papal visit as a historic and unique moment, as they did for Pope Benedict's visit in 2011, and, Pope St. John Paul II's visit in 1985, with many locals also recalling the images capturing the respective Popes crossing the Grand Canal by gondola.

Moreover, Pope John Paul II had celebrated Mass at the same women's prison on the Giudecca island that Pope Francis will be visiting, and, Benedict, while there, had similarly addressed artists, but not at a prison, but rather at the famous and world-renowned opera house, La Fenice theatre.