Pope Francis will visit Venice on Sunday, April 28, 2024, the Holy See announced on February 13. The 87-year-old Pontiff's first visit to Italy this year includes three appointments.
During his day in the capital of the Veneto region, the Pope will visit the Holy See’s pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, an international art exhibition, the brief statement from the Dicastery for Culture and Education explains.
This year the Holy See, which has been present at this prestigious international art exhibition since 2013, will have a pavilion dedicated to human rights and marginalized people.
The Pontiff will then visit the Giudecca women's prison, a facility that can accommodate around 100 inmates, located around 5 miles (8km) west of the city.
Lastly, he will meet with Catholics from the Patriarchate of Venice - the equivalent of a diocese - currently headed by Patriarch Francesco Moraglia. Pope Francis received the region's bishops on an ad limina visit on February 8.
The Bishop of Rome will be visiting Venice 13 years after his predecessor Benedict XVI, who visited the famous port city on May 7-8, 2011. John Paul II visited in 1985.
Pope Francis, who hasn't made an apostolic trip within Italy since his trip to Asti in November 2022, is also planning to take two other trips within the country in 2024: Verona on May 18 and Trieste on July 7.
