The Pope visits Venice on his first visit in seven months – DW – 04/28/2024

Pope Francis, 87, arrived in Venice this Sunday (04/28/2024), hosting his first visit outside Rome in seven months. The pontiff’s helicopter landed at 8 a.m. in the courtyard of the women’s prison on the island of Giudecca, where the Vatican pavilion for the 60th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art is located.

“Let’s not put dignity aside,” he told about eighty prisoners. Francisco greeted them one by one, as well as the administrative and penitentiary staff and volunteers. From this former convent for women, now converted into a prison for long-sentenced prisoners, the Pope, sensitive to the conditions of marginalized peoples and the prison world, spoke about the penitentiary system as a means of “human, spiritual, cultural development”. Asked to provide “equipment and space”. “And professionals”.

“Have courage, and go forward! Don’t give up,” the Pope said after receiving as gifts products made by prisoners, many of whom walked away. Chiara Parisi, the exhibition’s curator, highlighted the prisoners’ “surprise” and “hope” for the visit.

Venice by motorboat

After visiting Giudecca Island, Francisco set sail by motorboat through Venice’s famous canals towards Punta de la Salud, the entrance to the famous Grand Canal. There he was taken in a small white vehicle among young people, who welcomed him with singing at the door of the Basilica of Santa María de la Salud.

Francis is the first Pope to visit the setting of the prestigious Venice Art Biennale, although his predecessors, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI visited Venice for other reasons. After this trip, the Argentine Jesuits plan two more trips to northern Italy, to Verona in May and Trieste in July. This trip coincided with the imposition of a tax of 5 euros on tourists, which Francisco, as a guest, did not have to pay.

Meeting with youth and the masses in San Marco

Today, Francisco suggested during his program that young people “put down the cell phones” and “find people” so they don’t become “compulsive typing professionals.” “I say to you, do not isolate yourself, seek others, experience God together, follow the group path without getting tired. You may say: ‘But everyone around me is on their phones, Glued to social networks and video games”, explained the Pope.

But he encouraged: “Move fearlessly against the tide: take life into your own hands, put yourself in sports, turn off the television and open the gospel, it’s too much, eh? Leave your cell phone and meet people. ” He explained to the youth that the telephone is “very useful for communicating” but asked them to be careful when “it prevents them from finding people.”

After the event with the youth, Bergoglio will cross the Grand Canal again to San Marco Square and deliver mass and then return to the Vatican by helicopter after just five hours of an official visit. Francis had not visited since his visit to Marseille (France) in September 2023. Bronchitis had forced him to cancel a trip to Dubai in December due to the increasingly delicate state of his health, and the exhaustion suffered during Holy Week had returned to his health condition. However, he is planning to travel to Southeast Asia in September, which will be his longest trip.

LGC (AFP, EFE)