The journey of Pope Francis to the Italian “origins” of his family among the vineyards of Monferrato

It will be a journey to the Italian “origins” of his family, the one that will take Pope Francis among the vineyards of Monferrato: on November 19 and 20, before meeting the crowds of thousands of faithful in Asti and receiving the honorary citizenship of one of “the most famous capitals” of Italian wine in the world, the Pope will visit the relatives in Portacomaro (in private, meeting his cousin Carla Rabezzana, whose guest he will be for a “family lunch”, together with all the other cousins, ed), the small village on the hills of the Asti area, from which, with a handful of earth in order not to forget their roots, the Bergoglios left Italy to seek their fortune in Argentina. And where the “Vigna del Papa” is “preserved”, owned by the Municipality and dedicated to the Holy Father, from which “Laudato” is born, thanks to the care and passion of a group of volunteers coordinated by Carlo Cerrato, with the Bottega del Grignolino and the Associazione Gente e Paese Onlus, the Grignolino that evokes the Pope’s Encyclical for the custody of Creation, intended not for trade but to raise funds for solidarity projects. A visit that, in its essence, reminds us of Pope Francis’s words - who is not a teetotaler, but drinks little, Italian wine and wine from all over the world - referring to wine as a symbol of being together: “there may be true joy even in a toast, wine is a gift from God”.