My goodness! The days dwindle down - and the Holy Father's visit to Brescia is just about three weeks away. The diocesan site for the vist has been busy
posting a lot of background information, and one can see their level of preparation perhaps in the number of versions they have for the official poster/banner
of the visit [BRESCIA WELCOMES THE POPE - they chose a great picture!], as follows:
And here's an item from the local paper today:
The Pope in Brescia:
An embrace from the people
by Massimo Tedeschi
Translated from
Brescia's Cathedral and the Piazza Paolo VI where the Pope will say Mass.
BRESCIA - Twelve thousand Brescians will be in Piazza Paolo VI in front of the new Cathedral for the papal mass on November 8.
And for sure, many more along the stages of Benedict XVI's route into the city: from the exit gate of the military airbase at Ghedi, through the suburb of Rezzato and his brif visit to Botticino, St. Arcangelo Tadini's parish, his stops in the city of Brescia itself, and his visit to Concezio (the suburb where Paul VI was born).
At least 2,000 young volunteers from the city's oratories and volunteer associations, to personnel of Civil Protection and Alpine police, will be mobilized to insure security along the papal route which Benedict XVI will traverse in the Popemobile alongside the Bishop of Brescia, Mons. Luciano Monari.
The program for the Holy Father's visit to pay homage to Paul VI has taken shape. The on-site visit by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household is expected shortly. A briefing was held by the diocese yesterday for the local press, and the diocesan site for the visit already has posted a great deal of information.
www.diocesi.brescia.it
Media attention is great. RAI has guaranteed a live broadcast of the papal Mass and Angelus
When John Paul II made a two-day visit to Brescia in 1998, some 500 newsmen and photographers were accredited, and the same is expected this time.
Whereas John Paul II's visit took place within ample space and time [landing by helicopter at Campo Marte, afternoon ceremony in Piazza paolo VI, overnight stay at the Paul VI Pastoral Center, Sunday Mass of canonization for the blessed Giuseppe Tovini at the stadium of Mompiano), for Benedict XVi, time and space will be compressed.
His arrival at the Ghedi airbase is considered a 'technical stop': the Pope will greet base representatives but there will be no ceremonies.
The Pope will proceed to Botticino, where the Pope will venerate the remains of St. Arcangelo Tadini [whom he canonized in April 2009) at his parish church-shrine. The motorcade will then proceed to the city center of Brescia, keeping to a tight schedule.
The motorcade will enter the city along via San Faustino, proceeding to the Piazza della Loggia. It is not planned for the Pope to stop at the memorial for the victims of the terrorist bomb which exploded duering an anti-fascist demonstration there in 1974 [it killed 8 and wounded 90], but it is not ruled out.
In the adjoining Piazza Paolo VI, there will be welcoming speeches by Bishop Monari and by the city mayor, Adriano Paroli. The Pope will then enter the Cathedral through the left door by the monument to Paul VI.
He will pray before the Blessed Sacrament then meet with diocesan seminarians and a delegation of sick people, among them some children being treated for cancer.
After vesting for the Mass, the papal cortege will go back out to Piazza Paolo VI. Four hundred Brescian priests will join the Pope for the Eucharistic concelebration.
Some of the 12,000 who have tickets to be in the piazza will occupy numbered seats. The tickets were distributed through the parishes and church associations. One sector has been reserved for 2,600 youth representatives.
The Italian government is expected to be represented once again by Gianni Letta, undersecretary to the Prime Minister's cabinet, but no one rules out that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may decide to show up himself.
For those who cannot be accommodated in Piazza Paolo VI, there will be maxiscreens in Piazza Loggia, Largo Formentone, Corso Zanardelli and Piazzetta San Luca.
After the Mass, the Pope will proceed to the Paul VI Pastoral Center, where he will have lunch, take his early afternoon rest, and then have some private audiences.
At 4:15 p.m., he will leave the city for Concezio, where he will visit the natal home of Paul VI and the new Paul VI Institute where he will visit the library and its collection of 'Art and Spirituality'.
In a brief program at the auditorium, he will preside at the awarding of the Paul VI Prize which this year, will be chosen from formative institutions. It is expected to go to the Institute for Christian Sources (Sources Chretiennes), which has assembled a collection started by the late French theologians Henri de Lubac and Jean Danielou, now numbering 530 volumes of texts by the Fathers of the Church and other Christian writers from the first to the 15th centuries. This is, of course, a cultural aspect that has always been dear to Joseph Ratzinger.
After the ceremony, the Pope will say a prayer at the parish church of Concezio, and at 6:15 p.m., will ride by regular car to Ghedi airbase, thus concluding his 11-hour visit to Brescia.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/10/2009 14:43]