Pope Francis to visit Ireland in first papal visit to country since 1979

The 81-year-old will arrive in Dublin on 25 August to take part in the Festival of Families

Wednesday 21 March 2018 11:43 GMT
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The pontiff will celebrate mass in Phoenix Park
The pontiff will celebrate mass in Phoenix Park

Pope Francis will visit Ireland for six days in August, it has been confirmed.

The 81-year-old will arrive in Dublin on 25 August to take part in the Festival of Families, a faith-based cultural concert.

Further details will be released at a later date but it has been announced that the Pope will celebrate mass in Phoenix Park on 26 August.

When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979, more than a million people attended an open air mass at the park.

It is not yet known if Pope Francis will travel across the border to Northern Ireland.

The announcement of the visit was welcomed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

In a statement, the bishops said: “We are deeply honoured that Pope Francis will come to our country to participate in this universal church celebration of faith and joy, as well as of the contemporary challenges which face families.

“With great anticipation we also look forward to hearing the apostolic guidance of his holiness during his stay with us.

“Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, as president of the World Meeting of Families 2018, has been charged with undertaking the significant task of organising this global celebration and each of the other 25 dioceses on the island of Ireland is supporting the host diocese to ensure its success for the whole country and for the world.

“We eagerly await the visit of Pope Francis, which no doubt will be an occasion of spiritual renewal for our laity, religious and clergy as well as a strengthening of Christian family life.”

It is anticipated that victims of clerical sex abuse will protest during Pope Francis’s visit.

Campaigner Margaret McGuckin is leading calls for a special payment to child victims of institutional abuse and said that she believed the Pope has not done enough to help.

“I am sure there will be many of our survivor groups down south who will be protesting,” she told the BBC.

“People could get quite angry and irate that the Pope is still coming, I don’t think it is a good time for him to come here.”

Agencies contributed to this report

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