A brief visit by Pope Francis to the French island of Corsica puts a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other.

Pope Francis will visit Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith, on Sunday, with locals hotly anticipating the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island. The pope has made several visits around the Mediterranean,

Pope Francis’ one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday, two days before his 88th birthday, will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other.

A brief visit by Pope Francis to the French island of Corsica will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other.

Pope Francis landed in Corsica Sunday for his first papal visit to the French island. The pope is expected to highlight the enduring religious traditions of the island as well as the ongoing deaths of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

Pope Francis arrives in Corsica, France Pope Francis arrives in Corsica two days before his 88th birthday. Francis’ one-day trip to capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, is the first papal visit to the French island and will include a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.