Dearest,

after having met His Holy Father in a private audience yesterday, monday 26 october, 2009, I am glad to announce all the ecclesiastical and diocesan community, and those who have public institutional responsibilities in our city, in the province and the whole region, that Pope Benedict XVI, keeping up the promise he made to the 7.000 pilgrims from Turin He met in a special audience on june 2 last year as we went to Rome to end the Pastoral Year of “Redditio fidei”, will make a Pastoral Visit in Turin on Sunday May 2, 2010.

This visit is to coincide with the big Exposition of the Shroud from April 10 to May 23, 2010.

The tentative agenda includes these official moments:

·        His Holy Father will pray privately in front of the Holy Shroud.

·        There will be a Solemn Concelebration of the Mass followed by the reciting of the Angelus for all the pilgrims in San Giovanni square.

·        In the afternoon, the Pope will have a meeting with young people in the Santo Volto church and will briefly call at Cottolengo to meet and bless those who live in the Little House of Divine Providence.

His Holy Father day in Turin will be a “unique” occasion to meet and pray with and for Him and listen to the special message He will bring both the turinese Church and all the civil society on our territory. The Pope purpose will mainly be to console the sufferings in keeping with the Exposition of the Shroud theme “Passio Christi, Passio hominis”. Furthermore, in the spirit of His last encyclical “Caritas in veritate”, He will convey His encouragement and hope for those who are searching for a job in this city, a city that, although it has always been considered a “Industrial and working city”, is now suffering beyond all expectations and unfortunately more than elsewhere the consequences of a severe and prolonged crsis.

I am sure to interpret a general feeling if I express His Holiness my deepest gratitude for this visit that will be an incredibile gift coming from His Heart of Father for our city and for our diocese and, therefore, I invite everyone to raise your earnest prayers to the Lord and to the Blessed Virgin to thank for His being and His demanding Ministry. We will welcome Him with great fondness and enthusiasm and this will be a support and solace to Him, so that He may keep offering us for a long time His faith beautiful testimony and the great wisdom with which He is guiding the Church becoming a primary worldwide reference point to defend the fundamental values of humanity as a whole.

Joyfully waiting to productively live this Holy Father Pastoral Visit, we now must in all sincerity apply ourselves to not waste the special grace occasion this event is for everyone, since it will revive the spiritual and pastoral path of our christian communities and will breathe hope and trust into everyone starting from the many who are suffering poverty and any other kind of physical and spiritual pain.

 

Turin, October 27, 2009

+ Card. Severino Poletto 
The Archbishop of Turin