(Vatican Radio) So, what does it feel like to be here in Assisi? It’s overcast and
cold, with light rain coming down in spurts. You look up from the train station and
see the ancient town on the hill, dominated by the Basilica of San Francesco. Listen
to this report from our correspondent in Assisi Christopher Wells:
From early
morning the streets have been crowded. Residents and pilgrims, security personnel,
journalists, workers are everywhere. There’s a sense of happy anticipation, excitement.
The Pope is coming! While everyone is waiting to see what Pope Francis will say and
do, the overwhelming spirit is one of welcome and gratitude. “Benevenuto, Sua Santità”
proclaim signs on houses and businesses throughout the town. There is, it seems, a
mutual feeling of love and affection, and of greeting. Pope Francis has spoken often
of the spirit of welcome, of encounter, and that is the mood here, people waiting
not so much to see the spectacle of a papal visit, but to be present with the Pope,
to meet him, to be with him.
That’s already been the feeling so far, in his
meeting with the sick and disabled at the Seraphic Institute, and his meeting with
the poor at the chapel of the “spogliazione” of Saint Francis at the Bishop’s residence.
His visit with the sick was particularly moving. As he stopped to meet each person,
they would reach out to him, clasp his hand, lean in close to him and share with him
their thoughts and feelings. One disabled child played with his pectoral Cross as
the Pope beamed. Each individual encounter was a precious moment. And each meeting
seems more important than the greetings and speeches that have so far marked his various
stops.
And as the Pope moves from station to station, following the footsteps
of his namesake on Saint Francis’ feast day, the people, braving the cold and the
wind and the rain, await their own personal moment with the Successor of Saint Peter.