ITALY: Pope meets centenarians on the island of longevity

. CAGLIARI, Sardinia (Reuters Life), September 9, 2008: By Philip Pullella, Reuters Life Pope Benedict on Sunday met some of the centenarians of Sardinia, the Mediterranean island where residents have among the highest rates of longevity in the world. "I wish you will reach my age, Your Holiness," 106-year-old Antonia Girau told the 81-year-old Pope at the basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria, near the city's port. Girau, known as the doyenne of Cagliari's centenarians, was one of 30 people aged over 100 the pope met inside the basilica before saying mass for 150,000 people outside the church. The island, better known for the pristine beaches that are a magnet for the jet-set rather than its rugged, hearty interior where most of the old people live, has other centenarians but they did not travel to the island's capital city. The mass was attended by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owns a large seaside estate on the island. Sardinia is known as The Island of the Centenarians, and, along with Okinawa, Japan, has one of the highest rates of over-100s. It has a ratio of about 1.5 people aged over 100 per 10,000 population as opposed to 1.0 per 10,000 in many other parts of the developed world, according to the Encyclopaedia of Ageing. Demographers and scientists believe the reason lies in genetic predisposition or a low-stress agrarian lifestyle or a combination of both. He also called for a "new generation" of politicians to fight for traditional values, including opposition to abortion and same-sex unions. Italy needs "committed lay Christians, capable of seeking sustainable solutions with competence and moral rigour," the Pope told 150,000 pilgrims Sunday at a shrine to the Virgin Mary in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The Christian Democrats led or served in every government from the Second World War. © The Windsor Star 2008