Venice/Vatican City – Today, Pope Francis leaves Rome for the first time in seven months. He is going to Venice, where he will be the first pontiff to visit the Venice Biennale’s contemporary art show. The 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church has been struggling with several health problems, and on the way, according to Reuters, he will test how he is doing with movement.
Today’s papal visit to the lagoon city will be the first since his election in 2013. Francis has not traveled since his visit to Marseille in September 2023. A bout of bronchitis forced him to cancel a December trip to Dubai. His subsequently increasingly frail general condition caused him to avoid traveling.
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On his way to Venice, according to the AFP agency, the pope primarily wants to assure people that he can carry out his ministry. Concerns about the Pope’s health were previously caused by his Easter bout of fatigue.
This morning, Francis will fly by helicopter to the women’s prison on the island of Giudecca, where the pavilion of the Holy See is located for the 60th biennale of contemporary art. The Pope will meet 80 female prisoners in this former convent and visit an exhibition that they prepared together with ten artists.
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Author: ČTK Date: April 28, 2024 Photo: Wikimedia Commons – Pope Francis
