Pope’s weekend Italian visit to Aquileia and Venice

(May 06, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI is making a pastoral visit to Aquileia and Venice in northeast Italy this weekend. He is flying from Rome late Saturday afternoon, and on reaching Aquileia he will meet local citizens in Piazza Capitolo and then move on to the basilica where he will attend a preparatory assembly for the Congress of Aquileia, which is due to be held at Pentecost 2012. In late afternoon the Pope will move on to Venice where he will venerate the relics of St. Mark in the city’s basilica named after the evangelist. On Sunday, Pope Benedict will preside at the celebration of the Eucharist in the park of San Giuliano at Mestre, followed by the midday “Regina Coeli” prayer. In the afternoon, he will preside at an ecclesial assembly in St. Mark's Basilica to mark the end of the pastoral diocesan visit. Later in the evening he will address representatives from the worlds of culture and the economy. Finally, he will bless a recently-restored chapel and a library of the basilica, before flying back to Rome.