Holy See confirms papal visit to San Marino in summer 2011
(October 02, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI will make an apostolic visit to the Diocese
of San Marino-Montefeltro in June 2011. The visit will not be a first by a Pope to
the unique diocese which spans two nations. The news was announced on San Marino
public radio and confirmed to CNA by Fr. Ciro Benedettini of the Holy See's Press
Office on Friday. Being from San Marino himself, Fr. Benedettini clarified that the
visit would not only be to the Republic of San Marino, but also to the Italian part
of the diocese, which includes the territory of Montefeltro. The Holy Father will
make a day trip to the diocese on June 19, 2011, spending the morning in San Marino
and the afternoon in the Montefeltro area. No specific details are immediately available
as the visit is still in the planning stages. Montefeltro is a historical division
that covers areas several Italian provinces that now border the "Most Serene Republic
of San Marino" and the diocese dates back to the 8th century. The bishop's see is
at the city of Pennabilli, on the Italian side, but the diocese has a total of three
cathedrals. One, the basilica co-cathedral of San Marino is within the walls of the
republic. Sixty-nine of the parishes in the diocese are Italian while another 12 are
located in San Marino. The last time a Pope visited the area was when John Paul II
did so in August 1982, a visit qualified as "apostolic" rather than "pastoral" because
part of it took place outside Italian borders