Pope holds mass in Venice's St Mark's

VENICE

Pope Francis presided over mass in St. Mark's Square in Venice yesterday while warning of environmental damage and over-tourism, in a closely watched visit marking the ageing pontiff's first outside Rome since last year.

Fragile health has prevented the 87-year-old leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics from travelling in recent months, his last trip being a visit to the French city of Marseille in September.

But under sunny skies yesterday, the pope appeared in high spirits as he addressed more than 10,000 faithful seated in the vast St. Mark's Square, following an earlier visit to a women's prison, and an address to young Venetians.

Citing the "enchanting beauty" of Venice, Francis listed the many dangers facing it, climate change, mass tourism and "frayed social relations, individualism and loneliness."

"Venice is one with the waters upon which it sits. Without the care and safeguarding of this natural environment, it might even cease to exist," said the pope in his homily.

"Similarly, our life is also immersed forever in the springs of God's love," he said.

Venice, he said, "which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all, starting with the last, a sign of fraternity and care for our common home."

The pope's visit came on the same weekend as Venice launched a new 5-euro ($5.35) entry fee for day-trippers, aimed at easing the pressure of tourism on the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Francis cited "the difficulty of creating an environment that is fit for human beings through adequate tourism management" as one of Venice's main challenges, along with "climate change... the fragility of constructions, of cultural heritage, but also of people."

Tourists were prevented from accessing the square during the papal mass, which required a ticket to attend.