A lasting legacy

Pope Benedict XVI has returned to the Vatican after an action-packed weekend in the Northern Italian towns of Venice and Aquileia.
On Saturday, the pope's first stop was Aquileia, east of Venice, where he was welcomed by thousands of believers waving white and yellow-flags.
Aquileia is the site of an ancient Roman port city upon which was built a basilica, which was considered the mother church for a broad area that united the Latin world with the Germanic and Slavic populations during the Middle Ages. Tradition holds that St. Mark evangelized the region, in what would become during the period the second most important diocese after Rome.
Then Benedict greeted thousands of faithful packed into Venice's St. Mark's Square and recalled Venice’s special vocation over the centuries of being a bridge between East and West.
During his two-day visit, Pope Benedict prayed before the relics of St. Mark, he addressed the bishops of NorthEastern Italy and adjoining areas, he presided an open-air Mass…. The particular beauty of the cities he visited provided for many super photo opportunities, as Linda Bordoni mentioned to Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri who travelled to Aquileia and Venice with the Pope…
listen to Chris Altieri's analysis of the trip...