Irish church eyes 2018 papal visit, reconciliation gesture

Irish church eyes 2018 papal visit, reconciliation gesture


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The archbishop of Dublin is hoping Pope Francis will visit Northern Ireland as well as Dublin to mark the next edition of the Catholic Church's big family rally.

While Francis hasn't committed to attending the August 2018 World Meeting of Families, popes have attended all but two of the past editions and Francis has made family ministry a priority.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told reporters Thursday that Irish bishops hoped Francis would complete the Irish tour St. John Paul II began in 1979, when he became the first pope to visit the Catholic country. The Vatican called off the Northern Ireland leg for security reasons.

Martin said while it's too early to start trip planning so far in advance, he assumed Francis would make a symbolic "gesture of reconciliation."

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent Religion stories

Related topics

Religion
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast