(ANS - Naples) - Tomorrow, Saturday 21 March, Pope Francis will go on a pastoral visit to Pompeii and Naples. The local people have been looking forward to the visit with great joy. They have been preparing carefully with various entertainment activities, and the members of the local Salesian Youth Movement have been playing their part.

The Pope will start his day with a visit to the Marian shrine of Pompeii. Then he will travel to Naples by helicopter.  His first stop in the city will be in Scampia, one of the most deprived areas of the city - one of those marginalized areas so beloved of the Pope. There he will meet people from different social classes.

In midmorning Pope Francis will preside at an outdoor Eucharist in Piazza Plebiscito. He will then visit the inmates of the Poggioreale prison and will dine with some of them. In the afternoon he will pay a visit to the cathedral, where he will venerate the relics of San Gennaro. He will then meet with clergy, religious and permanent deacons, with the sick, and finally with the young.

The young people of the Salesian Youth Movement in Naples were mobilized to raise awareness for this important event. On Sunday 15 March they spent the day informing the people and inviting them to participate. They went into Via Luca Giordano, in the Vomero neighbourhood, one of the busiest streets of the city where many people come to do their shopping. There they entertained passers-by with music and handed out leaflets about the visit.

The Church authorities in Naples had invited various Religious Movements and Associations to each take a street or a square where they could proclaim the coming visit of the Pope. The Salesian Youth Movement warmly welcomed the initiative, faithful to the wishes of Don Bosco who always encouraged his young people to love the Church and the Pope. Secondary school students of the Salesian Schools in Campania and Basilicata were also involved.

Published 20/03/2015