(Vatican Radio) The streets of Assisi are already decked with white and yellow flags
in anticipation of Pope Francis’ pastoral visit on Friday to the home of Saint Francis.
At
the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, first Vespers marked the beginning of the
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The residents of Assisi have been busy all
week preparing for the arrival of Pope Francis—the first Bishop of Rome to take the
name of Assisi’s most famous son.
Listen to Christopher Wells' report from
Assisi...
Pope Francis
is only the most recent pontiff to visit this medieval city. Just over a year after
the death of Francis, Pope Gregory, who had been a close friend and confident of the
saint, came here to canonize the “Little Poor Man” of Assisi.
More recently,
both Blessed John Paul the Second and Pope Benedict XVI have journeyed to Assisi.
During the last papal visit, in 2011, Benedict spoke about the role of religion, and
of a lack of religion, in the common efforts of mankind to find peace and freedom.
Those are themes that have also echoed in Pope Francis’ papacy – especially
in his call to non-believers to find areas of agreement and communion with non-believers.
The Holy Father’s visit to Assisi on Friday is expected to have a very devotional
aspect, as he visits all of the most important sites of Saint Francis’ life. In keeping
with the social justice themes that have characterized his papacy thus far, the Pope
will also have a number of opportunities to meet with the sick and the poor, and others
who find themselves on the “peripheries” of society.
In the meantime, as the
sounds of Vespers are fading, the people anxiously await the arrival of Pope Francis.