VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will celebrate the vigil of Pentecost in Verona, Italy, the setting for Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet.”
The Diocese of Verona has chosen “Justice and Peace will Kiss” from Psalm 85 as the theme for the pope’s visit May 18.
Publishing the schedule for the trip April 29, the day after Pope Francis visited Venice, the Vatican said he would arrive by helicopter at 8 a.m. and proceed to the Basilica of San Zeno for a meeting with priests and religious before meeting children and young people in the square outside the basilica.
In Verona’s famed arena, a Roman amphitheater dating to the year 30 and still used today, mainly for opera performances in the summer, Pope Francis will meet members of popular movements for an encounter titled, “Arena of Peace.”
Afterward, the pope will visit staff and detainees at the Montorio prison on the outskirts of town. The facility houses more than 500 prisoners, men and women. Pope Francis is scheduled to have lunch with the inmates.
His visit is scheduled to conclude with a Pentecost vigil Mass in the city’s Bentegodi soccer stadium.
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