Pope Benedict is going to Assisi on Sunday. Here, courtesy of PRF, is the schedule. Another version via Zenit:
Benedict XVI's visit to the tomb of St. Francis will be a pilgrimage that follows in the footsteps of the "little poor man of Assisi," says the local bishop.
The Pope will arrive in the Umbrian city by helicopter Sunday at 8:50 a.m. His trip will mark the 800th anniversary of the conversion St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226).Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino told L'Osservatore Romano that the Holy Father "will recall what Francis tells us about the beginning of his conversion, spent serving lepers."
At 9:30 a.m., the Holy Father will go by car to the Church of San Damiano and then to the Basilica of St. Clare at 9:50 a.m. for a brief visit and private prayer.
At that moment, said Archbishop Sorrentino, "we will relive the dialogue with the crucifix that changed St. Francis' life."
At 11 a.m., the prelate continued, in the piazza located in front of the lower Basilica of St. Francis, there will be a Mass that will underline "the particularly Eucharistic dimension of St. Francis' spirituality."
After the Mass, Benedict XVI will visit the tomb of St. Francis privately.
After lunch, the Pope will meet with a group of German-born Capuchin Poor Clares in the principal hall of the Sacro Convento.
He will then greet the participants of the general chapter of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and the community of the Sacro Convento.
snip
The Bishop of Rome will continue in his pilgrimage to the Cathedral of St. Rufino, which houses the baptismal font where St. Francis was baptized. In the cathedral, Benedict XVI will meet with clergy and religious.snip
The Pope will then visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels where he will pay a private visit to the Portiuncula, the small church restored by St. Francis upon discovering the vocation that would eventually lead to the founding of the Franciscans.
"Beneath the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, where the Portiuncula stands, the heartbeat of the Marian heart of Franciscans will be felt," said the bishop of Assisi.
Later, in a meeting with young people in the piazza in front of the lower basilica, "the Pope will present St. Francis to today's youth as a role model for living."
Comments