Pope Francis will deliver speeches in the European Parliament and the Council of Europe during his 25 November visit to Strasbourg, the Vatican announced today.
The Pope will also make a one-day trip to France in 2015, Holy See spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi confirmed after the French Catholic website La Croix reported that Francis was due to travel to Paris and Lourdes.
The European Parliament announced in September that Francis had accepted an invitation extended by President Martin Schulz, during his official visit to the Vatican the previous October.
The last pope to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg was St Pope John Paul II, in 1988, during which he was heckled by the then-leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, Revd Dr Ian Paisley.
Vatican sources told French Catholic website La Croix that Francis will visit Paris and Lourdes.
The Mayor of Lourdes, Jean-Pierre Artiganave, invited Francis to Lourdes after meeting him in February.
The so-called “Francis effect” has been attributed to a doubling of hotel bookings to the pilgrimage town during the Pope’s first year in office.
Mgr Bernard Podvin, spokesman for the French bishops’ conference, said, “At a time when it difficult to see any good news, here is some that warms the heart. I am overjoyed. After John Paul II and Benedict XVI, whose love for France was unforgettable, the Pope shall be a guest of our country and our Church. What an honour and responsibility for us.’
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