why such a passion of Francis for the Mediterranean
Lampedusa and Sardinia in 2013. Lesvos in 2016. Sicily in 2018. Malta in 2022. Marseille in 2023. Here are some of the many trips to the Mediterranean made by Pope Francis since the start of his pontificate. He could soon add a new territory to this list: Corsica. He is studying the possibility of going there on December 14 and 15.
Why such a tropism of the Pope for the inhabitants of these shores? For Blandine Chélini-Pont, historian at the University of Aix-Marseille-France, this azure sea reflects all of the pope’s ideals: peace, fraternity, interreligious dialogue and even the welcome of migrants. “The Mediterranean constitutes a mobilizing utopia for the Pope. His big idea is to rebuild a peaceful Mediterranean civilization. To do this, he relies on a network of theologians and personalities who defend the same idea, including the bishop of Corsica, François Bustillo, whom he created a cardinal, or Jean-Marc Aveline, the archbishop of Marseille. » It is no coincidence that the Pope went to Marseille and is planning to go to Corsica.
The bet for peace
For the researcher, Pope Francis defends this utopia in the same way that the Vatican sought, after the Second World War, to develop European institutions, also considered utopias at the time. “The Holy See started from the concrete necessity of preventing, once and for all, the States of Europe from killing each other. The same logic is at work in the Mediterranean today. Because it is a question of “a space under tension, even in conflagration, in the case of Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. The Pope is betting that religions, particularly Catholics, can build peace there.”
That the Mediterranean also represents one of the deadliest places in the world for migrants does not leave indifferent this pope committed to their cause, he who was the son of Italian immigrants in Argentina. “He wants to convince that immigration is not a disaster and that we must support those who are in distress,” observes Blandine Chélini-Pont. His trips to Lampedusa and Lesvos, places where there are large migrant camps, were aimed at this goal.
Francis, the pope of the peripheries
These trips to small islands are also a reflection of Francis’ love for the peripheries. This pope likes nothing more than flying to Mongolia, Kazakhstan or Papua New Guinea rather than to the big nations. It is also a way for him to help Catholics overcome their fear of one day finding themselves in a minority in their country. “This pope reverses the perspectives compared to his predecessors,” believes Blandine Chélini-Pont. He affirms that the normal situation is that of plurality and the circulation of men, as in the Mediterranean, and not that of Catholic domination. He wants to make Catholics the champions of the ideals of peace and dialogue. He believes in the importance of witnessing in action in countries where it is in the minority. It is also linked to the evolution of the papacy, which moved in the 20th century from an institution that looked after Catholics to an institution that became a source of international wisdom. »
If the sovereign pontiff went to Corsica, it is certain that he would do so in the name of the Mediterranean utopia and not out of a desire to visit France. Pope Francis did not respond to Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to attend the inauguration of Notre-Dame de Paris on December 8 and that says a lot. “Last year, the pope had already said that he was coming to Marseille and not to France, making half the country scream,” recalls Blandine Chélini-Pont. The Pope has his own imagination and his own priorities. »