Pope Francis will meet the university community in San Domenico

For the first time in Bologna, twenty years after the visit of Pope Wojtyla, Pope Bergoglio will spend a day in the city of the Two Towers. On the agenda, meetings with the students, teachers and the administrative staff of the University of Bologna

Pope Francis will come to Bologna for the first time on Sunday 1 October, on the occasion of the end of the diocesan Eucharistic Congress. Among the events on the agenda, the meeting with the university community in Piazza San Domenico
Exactly twenty years after the visit from Pope Wojtyla, who was in Bologna on 28 September 1997 to celebrate the conclusion of the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress, Pope Fancis's visit will include some of the city's symbolic locations: at 10.30 h the Holy Father will be at the hub in Via Mattei, to meet a group of young North Africans who landed on the Italian coasts; at 12.00 h, he will be in Piazza Maggiore for the Angelus, then he will have lunch with the poor in San Petronio, followed by a meeting with the clergy at the Cathedral of Saint Peter
At 15.30 h, in Piazza San Domenico, the Pope will meet the university community and the Dean, Francesco Ubertini, will present him with the Sigillum Magnum, the highest honour awarded by the University to its most illustrious guests, which in 1988 was awarded to Pope John Paul II, who visited the University to celebrate 900 years from its foundation. 
After the greetings from the Dean and the presentation of the Sigillum Magnum, Davide Leardini, vice-president of the Student Board of the University will take to the floor and welcome the Pope in name of the entire student community. Pope Francis will then address the students before moving on to the Dall'Ara Stadium to celebrate the Mass. 
To participate to the meeting with Pope Francis in Piazza San Domenico, next week, students and university staff will receive an email sent at their university email address. Online registrations will be open until availability lasts.

Published on: 11 September 2017