This morning, in the bishopric of Asti, Pope Francis received honorary citizenship. “My father left these lands to emigrate to Argentina and to these lands, made precious by the good products of the soil and above all by the genuine industriousness of the people, I came to rediscover the flavor of the roots”, the Pontiff said in his homily during the Mass in the Cathedral of Asti. After lunch and a visit to the city stadium, Pope Francis left Asti (THE POPE’S VISIT TO ASTI – THE PROGRAM).
Honorary citizenship to Pope Francis
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Asti, the private visit of Pope Francis to Portacomaro
The honorary citizenship was conferred “for the strong commitment to peace in the world and the daily messages of solidarity and fraternity against all forms of discrimination”, values also contemplated by the Statute of the City of Asti, and for the strong bond with the Asti and Piedmont areas witnessed by the continuity of contacts with the family and the institutions, symbolically represented by the small bag of Asti soil taken from Bricco Marmorito. In addition to the municipal administration, the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, and the vice president Fabio Carosso were present with the junta, led by mayor Maurizio Rasero.
The mayor of Asti: “Incredible human and faith experience”
“Incredible faith and human experience that I faced with tears in my eyes for the emotion and emotion of the words spoken by the Pope – commented the mayor – especially when the Holy Father defined himself as a native of Asti like us”. He then added: “It’s a moment we will never forget. I’m thrilled. We worked on it for 40 days.”
The visit of Pope Francis to Asti
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Pope, Africa should not be exploited but promoted
After leaving the bishopric of Asti, where he spent the night, Pope Francis traveled about 2 kilometers aboard the popemobile. Numerous voluntary associations are involved along the way, as well as a significant deployment of law enforcement, 300 civil protection volunteers and at least 50 Anpas public assistance volunteers. The Pope then went to the cathedral for Mass, and a meeting with the young people at the Asti stadium is scheduled for the afternoon.
Mass in the Cathedral of Asti
“My father left these lands to emigrate to Argentina and to these lands, made precious by the good products of the soil and above all by the genuine industriousness of the people, I came to rediscover the flavor of the roots”, the Pontiff said in the homily of the Mass in the Cathedral of Asti. “But today – added Pope Francis – it is once again the Gospel that takes us back to the roots of faith”. On the day in which the Church celebrates Christ the King, the Pope recalled that “our idea of King is turned upside down”. Indeed, today’s Gospel speaks of Christ on the cross who “does not point his finger at anyone, but opens his arms to everyone. This is how our King manifests himself: with open arms, a ‘brasa aduerte'”, explained the Pontiff using the dialect of his family. “Only by entering his embrace do we understand: we understand that God went as far as there, to the paradox of the cross, precisely to embrace everything about us, even what was most distant from him: our death, our pain , our poverties, our fragility, our miseries”, Bergoglio underlined.
Pope Francis’ homily
The Pope, commenting on today’s Gospel, underlined that “a criminal becomes the first saint: he draws close to Jesus for an instant and the Lord keeps him with him forever. Now, the Gospel speaks of the good thief for us, for invite us to overcome evil by ceasing to remain spectators. Please, this is worse than doing evil: indifference”. The Pope then invited Christians to avoid a purely formal faith: “And we, do we have this trust, do we bring to Jesus what we have inside or do we disguise ourselves before God, perhaps with a little sacredness and incense? Please don’t do the spirituality of makeup”, “before God only soap and water, without makeup, with the soul as it is, and salvation comes from there”.
The Pope then asked the faithful not to remain indifferent to the things that are wrong, even in the Church. “It’s up to us to choose whether to be spectators or involved”, “we see today’s crises, the decline of faith, the lack of participation. What do we do? We limit ourselves to making theories, we limit ourselves to criticizing, or we roll up our sleeves, do we take life in hand, do we move from the ‘ifs’ of apologies to the ‘yes’ of prayer and service? We all – the Pope said in his homily – think we know what is wrong in society, we all talk about it every day about this, also what is wrong with the Church, so many things are wrong with the Church, but then shall we do something? Do we get our hands dirty like our God nailed to the wood or do we stand with our hands in our pockets and watch?”.
The Pontiff introduced a young man who was ordained an acolyte during the celebration, and underlined that “young priests” are needed. “We have seen this boy, Stefano, who asks to be ordained an acolyte on his journey towards the priesthood. We must pray for him, so that he may continue in his vocation, be faithful but we must also pray for this Church of Asti – the Pope asked – for the Lord to send priestly vocations, because, as you can see, the majority are old, like me. Young priests are needed”.
The Pope’s greeting during the Angelus: “Ch’a staga bin”
“Our time is experiencing a lack of peace: let us think of so many places in the world scourged by war, especially the tormented Ukraine. Let us get busy and continue to pray for peace!”, the Pope said at the Angelus delivered by the Cathedral of Asti. During the Angelus, the Pontiff thanked the civil and religious authorities “for the preparations that have made this desired visit possible”. Then he greeted everyone in Piedmontese dialect: “I would say to everyone that a la fame propri piasi ‘encuntreve! (I was pleased to meet you); and wish you: ch’a staga bin! (Be well!)”.
“We need transgressive young people”
Bergoglio then recalled that today World Youth Day is being celebrated at the diocesan level. “Today we need truly ‘transgressive’, non-conformist young people who are not slaves to a cell phone, but change the world like Mary, bringing Jesus to others, taking care of others, building fraternal communities with others, realizing dreams of peace” , the Pope hoped.
The stage at the “Censin Bosia” stadium
Great expectations at the ‘Censin Bosia’ stadium in Asti for the last leg of Pope Francis’ visit to Piedmont. 1,340 people await him, mostly children and teenagers with their families. The farewell meeting is scheduled for the afternoon and slightly ahead of schedule. Then the Pope will go up by helicopter to return to the Vatican. Meanwhile Pope Francis had lunch with his relatives in the Bishopric. A typically Piedmontese menu including bagna cauda, the dish made with garlic and anchovies. The menu was prepared by the Albergo Etico of Asti, which has the peculiarity of having employees with Down syndrome.
Songs and dances of the Youth Ministry
The young people of the Youth Ministry received the pontiff, who sang and danced and gave him a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. Near the helicopter to greet him, before departure, the provincial commander of the carabinieri, lieutenant colonel Paolo Lando, the commissioner of Asti Sebastiano Salvo, the provincial commanders of the Guardia di Finanza and the fire brigade. “Ciao Francesco”, the greeting that accompanied the pontiff as he boarded the helicopter to return to the Vatican