Pope to visit Germany in August
The Vatican today set August 18-21 as the dates for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany for the Church’s World Youth Day, the only foreign trip the new Pope has scheduled so far.
The Pope’s return to his German homeland will be centred in Cologne, the site of the youth event, but he will also travel to Bonn on August 19, the Vatican said.
The German president maintains a residence in the former West German capital and he is expected to meet the Pope there.
The youth event attracted hundreds of thousands of young people in various parts of the world during the papacy of John Paul II, who had accepted the invitation to Germany despite his weakened condition.
He died on April 2 and Benedict agreed to attend.
The Vatican said it would furnish a full schedule of the Pope’s German trip at a later date.
