Rome capital 'providential' - pope

(ANSA) - Rome, February 3 - Pope Francis said in a message to the 150th anniversary celebrations of Rome being proclaimed Italian capital in 1870 that "the proclamation of Rome as capital was a providential event, which back then aroused polemics and problems, but which changed Rome, Italy and the Church itself, with a new story beginning".
    Then pope Pius IX did not recognise Rome and Italian unification and the Vatican refused to do so until the 1929 Lateran Pacts between Mussolini and the Holy See.
    Francis' message to the celebrations was read out by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the Rome opera house. where the anniversary was being marked.
    Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi said: "Rome is a welcoming and international city. A city open to all. And it will always be so.
    "Celebrating this anniversary means preparing with enthusiasm for the next challenges.
    "And opening this new phase in this place of culture is the mots beautiful wish that we make to the city and Italy".