Florence, capital of Tuscany, remains the one major city in Italy that Benedict XVI has yet to visit as Pope. For this reason, Tuscans are looking forward to his visit to Arezzo this Sunday, which will be his first to the region. Her is Part 2 of a lengthy article in Toscana Oggi, appearing in its May 13 weekly edition written by its editor,
Left, a special magazine published by the diocese on the Pope's visit; right, tomorrow's weekly edition of Toscana Oggi and a poster of the papal visit (which unfortunately only comes as athumbnail so I cannot enlarge it more).
Papal visit to Arezzo:
A gift and a gesture
for all of Tuscany
by Andrea Fagioli
"A gift for Arezzo but also a gesture for the entire region of Tuscany and what it represents in Europe and in the world", is how Archbishop Riccardo Fontana, Bishop of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, described Benedict XVI's visit on Sunday at a meeting of the Regional Council last May 2.
He said that preparations for the visit have been characterized by "parsimony in organization, efficacy in communications, the proper attention to our people especially those most affected by the economic crisis in a way that has been most difficult and painful".
"The Church wants to do its part", he continued, "by helping the most needy, as well as by calling attention, as much as it can, to the region and what would promote the common good".
This is the significance of the Pope's visit to a region rich in history where, a thousand years ago, the Sacred Hermitage of the Camaldoli Benedictines was established and the pilgrims Arcanus and Aegidius founded the city of Sansepolcro.
It is a region, Mons. Fontana underscored, "where communal freedom and individual dignity have been elaborated since the Middle Ages; where the ideal city is one of justice and peace; and where commitment for the common good transcends ideological barriers".
He cited recent historical figures like Giorgio Lapira, Piero Calamandrei and the recently beatified Giuseppe Toniolo "whose witness reflected the values of the great Renaissance leaders that persist to our time, in this region, a land of prayer and dialog".
Mons. Fontana has called on his diocesan faithful to 'fully experience' this 13th of May with the Pope: "The presence of the Pope in this region," he said, "is tantamount to saying, as from an elevated pulpit, that even today, Tuscany can still lead the way in planning a future with a European and universal vision."
"The subjects of social policy and the economy - which are decidedly much closer to the work of this regional council - can well dovetail into a re-proposal of freedom and justice for all, according to the duty of human solidarity".
TSD, the diocesan TV of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, will be transmitting live broadcasts of the Pope's entire visit on May 13, from 9 am to 9 pm, including certain 'exclusive' stages, such as his arrival by helicopter in Arezzo, his trip through the city by Popemobile, and his private visit inside the Cathedral of San Donato.
The coverage of the Papal Mass at 10 am will be shared with all the local and regional TV channels.
The entire event will also be streamed on
www.tsdtv.it.
Cardinal Ratzinger's previous
visits to Tuscany
Although this is Benedict XVI's first visit to Tuscany as Pope, he has had a very special link to the region through the Benedictine nuns' community of Rosano near Florence, as the nuns recounted shortly after he was elected Pope.
He first visited Rosano in 1985 to preside at the solemn profession of vows of a novice. After that, he returned several times more, especially for the Solemnity of Corpus Domini when he celebrated Mass and led the procession of the Blessed Sacrament.
In 2001, he chose the abbey to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination along with his brother.
During those trips, the nuns recounted, he would be accompanied by his then secretary, Mons. Josef Clemens, and the cardinal's faithful driver, Alfredo. They would arrive late Saturday afternoon and leave the following afternoon. On Saturday evenings, he liked taking a walk in the fields.
Popes who have visited Tuscany
Throughout history, many Popes have visited the cities of Tuscany. Just to the diocese of Arezzo alone, the best-remembered is Gregory X for whom the Istituto di Scienze Religiose is named. He died in the Bishops' Palace of Arezzo on January 10, 1276, during a return trip to Rome.
An earlier predecessor, Victor II, died in Arezzo in 1057, while on a visit to resolve boundary questions between the Churches of Arezzo and Siena.
Among the most significant papal visits to Arezzo was that of John XVII, in 1007, who was invited by then Bishop Elempertus to consecrate the reconstructed cathedral of Pionta.
Alexander II, who had been the first bishop of Lucca who became the great reformer of the Church in the 11th century, was a guest for a few days at the Monastery of Capolona.
After Leo X, who stopped in Arezzo for a few days in 1515, we come next to 1805, when Pius VII passed through Arezzo on his way to Paris for the coronation of Napoleon I.
Two Popes visited Sansepolcro: Gregory XII, escorted by Carlo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, when he was fleeing hostilities fomented against him by various European states; and Clement VII, during the trip to Bologna in order to crown Emperor Charles V.
In years much closer to our time, Paul VI was the first Pope to visit Tuscany. He went to Pisa on June 10, 1965, for the National Eucharistic Congress. He returned on Christmas Eve the next year to celebrate Mass at Florence's Santa Maria dei Fiore, to encourage Florence in its efforts to recover from the catastrophic flood of November 1966.
Papa Wojtyla visited Tuscany ten times - nine of them pastoral visits and one which was private and unexpected to the Monastery of Monte Argentario in December 2000. The pastoral visits were:
- Siena, on September 14, 1980;
- Two years later, on the May 1 Feast of St Joseph the Laborer, he went to Livorno, to Rosignano Solvay where he met with some factory workers, and to the shrine of Montenero;
- In 1986, again on St. Joseph's day, he chose Prato for a meeting with laborers;
- Later in the year, on Oct 18-19, he visited Florence and Fiesole;
- On May 21, 1989, he visited Grosetto, the first Pope to visit the Maremma region in 856 years;
- He returned on Sept. 22-24, 1989 for an intense three-day visit to Pisa, Cecina, Volterra and Lucca (where he venerated Lucca's 'Volto Santo'.
- He was supposed Arezzo and Sansepolcro in September 1992, but the visit was postponed because of health reasons.
- On May 23, 1993, he visited Cortona and Arezzo.
- On Sept. 17,1993, he went to La Verna and Camaldoli.
- He missed going to Siena for the National Eucharistic Congress in 1994 because of a domestic accident (was ti when he broke his hip?}
but came back on March 10, 1996 to celebrate Mass at the Piazza del Campo, after having met with workers at Colle Val d'Elsa.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/06/2012 01:52]