Pope’s UK visit officially announced
(July 5, 2010) The Vatican on Monday formally announced and confirmed Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the UK this September. “Pope Benedict XVI will make an apostolic visit to the United Kingdom from September 16-19, in acceptance of the invitation of the government of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Catholic bishops’ conferences of England and Wales and of Scotland,” a Vatican statement on Monday. Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said in the statement that during the trip, the Holy Father will pay a visit to Queen Elizabeth at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the British monarch’s official residence in Scotland. The Pope will also celebrate an open-air Mass a Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. In the British capital London, the Pope will meet politicians, businessmen and intellectuals at Westminster Hall, lead an ecumenical prayer service at Westminster Abbey, celebrate Mass in Westminster Cathedral and preside over a prayer vigil at the city’s Hyde Park. The highlight of the papal visit will be the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, in Cofton Park in Birmingham. The UK visit will be Pope Benedict’s 17th trip outside Italy, after his last one to Cyprus, June 4-6.
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