Trieste, a border city, crossroads of worlds and cultures, awaits Pope Francis. The event is the 50th Catholic Social Week. A moment long awaited by the Italian Church, which this year puts democracy at the center. And as many tell us here, not only Catholics are waiting for the Pontiff. But the entire city, this cosmopolitan and multicultural city, which actively participates in the multiple initiatives that the Italian Episcopal Conference has conceived and put into practice.
Trieste, thanks to its port, which has always been the “kingdom of commerce and merchants”, is famous for the coexistence of people: we find the Jewish quarter, the history of the Habsburgs, very close to the borders are Slovenia and Croatia . There are Latin, Germanic, Austrian, Slavic and Slovenian influences. Trieste is truly a city different from other Italian cities.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
The Social Weeks of Italian Catholics were born in 1907 at the initiative of Giuseppe Toniolo. The first was held in Pistoia in 1907. Among the topics that have been addressed are work, school, the status of women, and the family.
The good practice villages, “invention” of this 50th Social Week, are located in the historic center of the city of Trieste, facing the sea. Here there are numerous stands where Catholic associations and institutions are made known. These are the “good practices” that exist in the national territory to encourage the participation of all citizens.
There is the neighborhood “where to hug”, the “where to build”, the “where to dream” and finally the “neighborhood where to grow”. There are dioceses from north to south, religious orders, voluntary associations, Catholic universities. , houses publishing houses, there are the ACLI, Catholic Action, the community of Sant’Egidio and many other entities that populate this “city of democracy” these days, until July 7.
But not only. There are also debates, presentations of projects and books, evenings and concerts in each of these “squares of democracy” where tourists and professionals mix.
Then, moving towards the Old Port, you reach the Generali Convention Center, where every day, from July 3 to 6, the thousand delegates present meet in round tables, workshops and assemblies. Just on Wednesday the TCC Trieste Center received the Head of State, President Sergio Mattarella.
The Bishop of Trieste, Bishop Enrico Trevisi, in the welcome brochure, wishes “everyone an experience in which together we participate in the construction of a future of hope, guided by the Spirit, aware that the ‘great legacy of The social doctrine of the Church still illuminates our path and together we can write a new stage, within the challenges of our time.'”
Therefore, only the most anticipated guest is missing: Pope Francis. Who will arrive tomorrow to conclude the work of this 50th Social Week of Italian Catholics and preside over the Eucharistic Concelebration in Piazza dell’Unità.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Press.
Veronica Giacometti
Born in 1988, graduated in Letters and Media Communication and specialized in Information, Publishing and Journalism at the University of Rome III, she has published a book with the TAU publishing house called “Even the Popes communicate.” She interned at Vatican Radio and is passionate about social networks and cyberculture. Originally from Trastevere, she is an active volunteer at the parish of St. Francis in Ripa.