Pope Francis celebrates a mass in Ajaccio, as part of his trip on the French island of Corsica, on December 15, 2024. Pope Francis visits Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith with locals hotly anticipating the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island. His short trip, based around a congress on faith in the Mediterranean region, comes just a week after he snubbed the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris five years after a devastating fire. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)