Pope Francis is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on the island of Corsica in a private meeting, amidst controversy over his decision to skip the Notre-Dame cathedral reopening.
Pope to Meet Macron in Corsica After Sitting Out Notre-Dame Reopening
Pope Francis is set to travel to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron. This visit comes one week after the pontiff raised eyebrows by deciding to skip the grand reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
Besides holding talks with Macron, Francis is scheduled to attend a gathering in Ajaccio, the island’s capital, focused on popular piety. Popular piety includes expressions of faith outside of church celebrations. The 87-year-old pope will also hold mass with several thousand worshippers.
Francis ruffled feathers in France last week when he did not join other world leaders in attending the reopening of Notre-Dame, a landmark medieval Catholic cathedral that was massively damaged by a fire some five years ago. However, Francis’s decision to skip the event has been met with mixed reactions from the public and within the Vatican.
It will be Francis’s first visit to Corsica, a Mediterranean island off the southern coast of France that has longed for greater autonomy from Paris. Most of the island’s 350,000 inhabitants are Catholics. The pope’s trip to Corsica is seen as an opportunity for him to engage with the local community and promote unity among the Catholic faithful.
Francis will be returning to Rome after this visit, marking his final trip abroad before the busy Christmas season. Besides the usual festivities, the pope is set to open the 2025 Holy Year on Christmas Eve. Also known as Jubilee, the Catholic Holy Year occurs every 25 years and attracts millions of pilgrims who make the trip to Rome for the occasion.
