Pope Francis visited Asti, Italy on November 19th and 20th. On the first day, he visited relatives and family members privately, and celebrated the Diocesan-level World Youth Day in the Cathedral of Asti the next Sunday. The bishop of Asti, Bishop Plastaro, told the media that the Pope’s visit will bring the people of Asti to the Gospel, Apostolic tradition, prayer and community life.
(Vatican News Network)Pope “This is a visit to his homeland and relatives and family, followed by a visit to the Church family in Asti on Sunday. For Pope Francis, this is a meeting with two families, one with blood. family, and the other is the family of faith”. Bishop Marco Prastaro of the Diocese of Asti said so in an interview with two media including Telepace.
Bishop Plastaro excitedly told reporters that the people of Asti have long awaited the Pope’s visit. He emphasized that since March 13, 2013, when Bergoglio was elected Pope, the people of Asti believed that “one of us became Pope”. The pope’s visit this November is a return to the roots of his life. The bishop explained that although the Pope’s visit was purely a family visit, it also “takes us to the roots of our faith, which are the Gospel, Apostolic Tradition, prayer and community life”.
Later, Bishop Prastaro introduced that the Pope’s visit on Saturday was completely private. He met with his cousin Garra, who just turned 90 a few days ago, and then met with other relatives. The next day, Sunday, 20th, the Pope will preside over Mass at 11:00 a.m. in the Cathedral of Asti and meet with diocesan groups. Before the mass, the pope took his car to make a 1.7-kilometer detour in the center of Asti to meet the crowd that welcomed him. After the Eucharist, the Pope will have lunch with his relatives at the Bishop’s Palace in Asti. At 3:30 p.m., the Pope met and bid farewell to more than a thousand children and young people at the Asti Municipal Stadium. From there, the pope will return directly to the Vatican by helicopter.
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