Milan, Italy’s economic hub, is the host city for the VII World Meeting on the theme
The Family: Work and Celebration. From Wednesday May 30th to Sunday June 3rd,
it will welcome Catholic families from around the globe to celebrate together the
vocation to family life and its specific role within the life of the universal Church.
Listen to Emer McCarthy's report:
Activities
include a theological pastoral congress, an international family fair, workshops and
liturgies of prayer and adoration. But without doubt, the defining moment for many
taking part will be the opportunity to pray and witness together to family life in
the presence of the Pope.
The Holy Father is scheduled to arrive in Milan on
the evening of Friday June 1st. His first public appointment a Friday evening
address to participants before Milan’s Duomo, dedicated to Our Lady, whose statue
holds vigil over the city from the crown of the majestic Cathedral.
From there
the Pope will make the short trip to another iconic building synonymous with Italian
culture: La Scala Opera House. There - in the theatre once home to the giant’s of
Italian Opera such composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini – Pope Benedict whose
passion for classical music is widely known, will attend a concert in his honour with
the official delegations to the World Meeting of Families.
The following morning,
the Pope pray the Hora Media" at the cathedral with priests, religious and laity from
the diocese, during which he will read a meditation and venerate the relics of the
iconic Cardinal and son of Lombardy, St. Charles Borromeo.
Just before midday,
in Meazza Soccer Stadium home to ACMilan footbal club, the Pope is scheduled to speak
to and pray the Angelus with children who are being confirmed. Later that evening,
he will meet with civil authorities in the Archbishop’s residence and, just after
sunset, will address the participants of the "Celebration of Witnesses" that will
take place in the metropolitan park of Bresso.
Bresso Park will also be the
location for the great concluding Mass on Sunday, 3 June, at 10:00am, his final public
appointment before his return to Rome that evening.