The one-day journey to Venice might be intently watched amid issues over the delicate well being of Francis, who has toured the world extensively in his 11 years as pope however has not travelled since visiting the French metropolis of Marseille in September.
Arriving by helicopter at 8:00am native time to the courtyard of the ladies’s jail on the island of Giudecca, the pope greeted one after the other the roughly 80 inmates, employees and volunteers.
The pope, who all through his papacy has spoken up in defence of prisoners and the marginalised, inspired the ladies to reconstruct their lives “brick upon brick, collectively, with dedication” throughout their time behind bars.
“Jail is a harsh actuality, and issues reminiscent of overcrowding, the dearth of services and sources, and episodes of violence, give rise to an excessive amount of struggling there,” he mentioned, sitting in entrance of the prisoners.
“However it may additionally turn out to be a spot of ethical and materials rebirth…” he added.
Francis referred to as on the jail system to “supply detainees the instruments and room for human, religious, cultural {and professional} progress, creating the circumstances for his or her wholesome reintegration”.
The pope additionally toured the artwork exhibition housed on the jail that considers the day by day lives of the inmates by means of the work of 10 totally different artists.
The exhibit is the Vatican’s entry for this 12 months’s Biennale pageant of artwork, which started final weekend.
Francis’s go to represents “a historic second as a result of he would be the first pope to go to the Venice Biennale,” mentioned the exhibition’s lead curator, Jose Tolentino de Mendonca.
Final 12 months in December, a bout of bronchitis pressured the pope to cancel a visit to Dubai, the place he was to have addressed UN local weather talks.
He additionally pulled out of an Easter occasion on the final minute in March, after struggling for a number of weeks from what the Vatican referred to as a “mild flu”.
– Mass on St Mark’s Sq. –
Following the jail go to, the pope is because of deal with younger individuals on the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, a landmark church on the south finish of the Grand Canal.
From there he’ll head to St Mark’s Sq. through a bridge constructed on a base of boats lined up throughout the canal and preside over a mass beginning at 11:00am.
He is because of depart Venice within the early afternoon, having turn out to be the fourth pope to go to the town, after Paul VI (1972), Jean-Paul II (1985) and Benedict XVI (2011).
The diocese of Venice is among the largest in Italy, with 125 parishes, and has shut ties with the papacy. Three Venice patriarchs grew to become popes within the twentieth century.
Francis’s go to comes on the identical weekend as Venice launches a brand new entry payment for day-trippers, geared toward easing the strain of tourism on the UNESCO World Heritage web site.
As a visitor, the top of the Catholic Church might be exempt from shopping for a five-euro ($5.30) ticket, however non-resident pilgrims visiting for his mass must pay.
The pontiff, who makes use of a wheelchair, has suffered growing well being issues lately, from knee ache to surgical procedure for a hernia and on his colon.
Regardless of his well being, the Vatican is planning an formidable 12-day journey to Asia in September, taking in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Earlier than that, the pope is because of make two different journeys inside Italy, to Verona in Could and Trieste in July.
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