[Kathnet, Italy] Pope Benedict XVI will visit the central Italian city of Sulmona on the 800th birthday of one of its Saints, Celestine V.
Pope Benedict will visit on the 4th of July the central Italian city of Sulmona. The reason is the 800ths birthday of Pope Celestine V, who has been an inhabitant of the Abruzzian city for many years.
The Vatican has reported that Benedict XVI will pray before the reliquary of the Saint int the Cathedral crypt.
Celestine was elected against his will to the Papacy in 1294 to be head of the Church. The hermit was 80 years old at this point and had a reputation for holiness. In a moment unprecedented in Church history, he gave up his Papal office in a few months.
The central event of the 19th inner-Italian papal trip is the morning Mass in the open air under the open sky in the inner-city of Sulmona.
After a meal with the bishops of the region he will meet in the afternoon with the youth of the program. In the evening, Benedict XVI will fly back to Rome on a helicopter.
The Saint has for Pope Benedict a special significance. Already in April 2009 the current Pope laid an stole of honor, a so-called pallium, upon the shrine in the Abruzzian capital, L'Aquila.
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