Bergamo, Italy, May 19, 2018 / 05:01 am
The mortal remains of St. John XXIII will spend more than two weeks away from the Vatican on a "peregrination" to the northern Italian towns where he grew up and served as a priest, the Diocese of Bergamo stated.
Exposed for veneration at an altar inside St. Peter's Basilica, the saint's body will return to his home diocese May 24-June 10 marking the 55th anniversary of his death and the publication of his encyclical on establishing universal peace, Pacem in terris.
The trip was announced last year after Pope Francis approved a request by the Bergamo diocese. It will includes stops at various places in the diocese, where St. John XXIII served as a priest for more than 20 years, and in the town of Sotto il Monte, where he was born.
The theme of the visit, "We start from the land where I was born and then continue up to heaven," was modified from a quotation of St. John XXIII where he referenced a line from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis: "Dimitte omnia et invenies omnia – Leave everything and you will find everything."