Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society.

Pope Francis, on his first visit to Corsica, praised the island people's deep faith and tradition of popular piety. On December 5, thousands of Corsicans gathered in Ajaccio to welcome the first pope ever to visit the island.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a "healthy secularism" while visiting the French island of Corsica. Christian and secular culture should not be pitted against each other, said Francis, who is the first pope to ever visit the Mediterranean island.

Pope Francis urged Catholic priests on Sunday to guard against spiritual groups that stoke political divisions, speaking during a one-day visit to Corsica, the first by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island.

As Pope Francis became the first pope to celebrate Mass on the French island of Corsica Dec. 15, the usual excitement of an open-air Mass with the pope was combined with the flair and pageantry of a Renaissance fair.

A brief visit by Pope Francis to the French island of Corsica puts a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other.

Pope Francis, on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica, on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society.

Pope Francis urged people to “make children” as he made his first papal visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday. Francis also called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society.

Pope Francis will visit Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith, on Sunday, with locals hotly anticipating the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island.

Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society.