Benedict XVI to visit faithful in Lazio region this weekend

Vatican City, Sep 3, 2009 / 08:22 am

This coming Sunday Pope Benedict XVI will make a pastoral visit to the towns of  Viterbo and Bagnoregio, which are under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome. The day-long trip will involve a Mass, the Angelus prayer and a visit with locals.

The Pope will begin his visit to the Italian region of Lazio with a welcome ceremony on the steps of the Palazzo dei Papi in Piazza San Lorenzo. After the ceremony, the Holy Father will make a brief private visit to the Hall of the Conclave.

At 10:15 a.m. he will preside at a Mass in Viterbo's Valle Faul. At midday he will pray the Angelus.

In the afternoon, the Holy Father will visit the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak. On his way there he will pause briefly at the Shrine of Santa Rosa.

The Holy Father will leave Viterbo via helicopter for Bagnoregio around 5 p.m. He will spend his time there visiting the Cathedral of St. Nicholas—where he will venerate relics of St. Bonaventure—and  meet with local citizens in the Piazza Sant'Agostino before returning to Castel Gandolfo by helicopter.