Pope Francis will visit Ajaccio December 15, the Vatican confirmed November 23. The pope, who declined the invitation to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, accepted an invitation from Cardinal François Bustillo, bishop of Ajaccio, where he will conclude a symposium on religiosity in the Mediterranean.
The pope seems to hold Cardinal François Bustillo in high regard. After appointing the Franciscan bishop to lead the Diocese of Ajaccio in May 2021, Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal in September 2023, and now he has accepted Bustillo’s invitation to visit the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on December 15. The pope will attend the conclusion of a diocesan symposium on a subject particularly dear to him: “Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean.”
“His 2023 trip to Marseille gave us beautiful inspiration about the Mediterranean,” explained Cardinal Bustillo. “I wanted to extend the reflection, drawing from what we experience in Corsica with confraternities, processions, and popular piety…” This represents a deeply rooted Catholicism still visible in the public sphere, embodied by the 55-year-old cardinal who regularly attends the island’s religious, civic, and sporting events, wearing his distinctive brown habit and rope belt.
In Ajaccio, the pope might join a street procession carrying statues of saints and mingling with the crowd. “Accepting the invitation of the civil and ecclesiastical Authorities, Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Ajaccio on 15 December 2024,” the director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Matteo Bruni, announced November 23. To fully understand the significance of this brief trip, it’s worth looking back at his earlier visits to France.
Notre-Dame, too political
Pope Francis has technically been in France before—in Strasbourg on November 25, 2014, and in Marseille on September 22–23, 2023—but didn’t “visit France,” according to his unusual phrasing. This distinction seems to reflect his preference for avoiding state-visit formalities, staying consistent with his “small countries diplomacy” and minimizing the protocol typically reserved for official visits.
This aversion to pomp may also explain his refusal to attend the December 8 reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris. “Coming to Notre-Dame would be a way to atone for the humiliation inflicted on Pius VII,” quipped a senior Vatican official, referencing the historical tensions between the Church and Napoleon. The pope made his stance clear during a September 13 press conference, stating twice, “I will not go to Paris.”
From Rome’s perspective, Notre-Dame Cathedral remains indelibly associated with Napoleon crowning himself emperor in Pius VII’s presence—a pope he would later imprison. Between Te Deum celebrations and presidential funerals, the Parisian cathedral is seen as “too political,” according to a Vatican insider, who feared its use as a tool for political gain by a politically weakened president.
In contrast, a trip to Corsica carries simpler symbolism, unburdened by Parisian political drama or the turbulent history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Even though Francis will land at Ajaccio’s Napoleon Bonaparte Airport—the French emperor was born there in 1769—imperial references are unlikely to dominate the visit.
A continuation of Marseille
“This trip to Corsica is an extension of the Marseille visit, a way to reinforce its significance,” confirmed a close papal associate. Among the island’s residents, Francis should have no trouble making his voice heard. But what will his message be?
“We cannot tolerate the Mediterranean becoming a vast cemetery!” he told European Parliament members in Strasbourg, a sentiment he echoed in 2023 from Marseille: “We are at a crossroads. On one side, fraternity; on the other, indifference, which stains the Mediterranean with blood.”
Will he repeat this message in Corsica? Will he focus on welcoming migrants, challenge nationalism, or emphasize fighting corruption and organized crime? “The primary focus will be on popular faith,” speculated one insider, noting that this theme aligns with his most recent encyclical, Dilexit Nos, published October 24.
In Latin America, Francis believes, popular piety preserved faith in the face of modernity’s excesses and violence. In Dilexit Nos, the Argentine pope—shaped by the theology of the people—argued that this might also be the case elsewhere. And perhaps, even in the Mediterranean.
Reproduced with permission from La Croix International.
