VATICAN CITY, 30 SEPTEMBER - From 4 to 23 October, the urn containing the venerated remains of Pope St Pius X will leave St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, where it is kept in the Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin, for a peregrinatio corporis in the Diocese of Treviso, the Diocese of Padua and the Patriarchate of Venice. The temporary transfer of the urn of the venerated Pontiff was granted by the Holy Father Francis accepting the request, formulated by the host Dioceses, to organise a pilgrimage on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the election of Giuseppe Sarto as Supreme Pontiff.
Appreciating the spirit of devotion that suggested the programme of the pilgrimage and having acquired the necessary technical, conservation and logistical information, the Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Peter's, His Eminence Card. Mauro Gambetti, has approved the pilgrimage divided into five stationes: a particularly intense programme, which has been carefully evaluated by the Fabbrica di San Pietro in order to guarantee with the necessary precautions the safety and delicate conservation balance of the mortal remains during the various phases of translation, handling and exposition, and to offer the devotion of the faithful the widest possible access to the veneration of the Saint.
In accordance with the Instruction The Relics in the Church: Authenticity and Preservation, the Archpriest of St Peter's Papal Basilica has appointed his Delegate in the person of Archbishop Lucio Bonora, an official of the Secretariat of State, who will accompany the relics throughout the pilgrimage. The Security Services of the Gendarmerie Corps of the Vatican City State will oversee the security of the remains, kept inside a double crystal urn with artistic bronze fastigium.
For the calendar of the stationes, please see what will be communicated by the host dioceses.
Institutional Communications Office Basilica and Fabbrica di San Pietro
comunicazioneistituzionale@fsp.va
Roberta Leone (responsible) +393931198745
Beatrice Offidani (collaborator) +393461425033
