On 4 August Pope Francis will visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in the Italian city of Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the «Pardon of Assisi«, the plenary indulgence granted in 1216 by Pope Honorius III upon request by the saint.
The Pope will depart from the Vatican by helicopter at 3 p.m. and will arrive 40 minutes later at the Migaghelli sports field next to St. Mary of the Angels, where he will be received by Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, bishop of Asis-Nocea Umbra-Gualdo Tadino; Catiuscia Marini, president of the Umbria region, Raffaele Cannizzaro, prefect of Perugia, and Stefania Proietti, mayor of Assisi.
He will then travel by car to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, where he will be received by Br. Michael Anthony Perry, minister general of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, Br. Claudio Durighetto, provincial minister, and Br. Rosario Gugliotta, Custos of the Porziuncola. In the Basilica Pope Francis will pray in silence in the Porziuncola and will read a passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew. In the convent he will greet the bishops and the superiors general of the Franciscan Orders, while in the infirmary he will meet with the patients and their carers. Outside the Basilica, the Holy Father will greet the faithful before transferring by car to the Migaghelli sports field at 6 p.m., where a few minutes later he will depart for Rome.
