Vatican: Holy See announces papal visit to France in 2015
The head of the Holy See Press Office officially announced on October 7, 2014, that Pope Francis will carry out an “apostolic trip” to France in 2015. The locations to be visited have not yet been confirmed, but daily La Croix guessed on October 6th that the Pope would most likely visit Paris and Lourdes. The trip will be Pope Francis’ first official visit to France.
In the past, John Paul II visited France seven times, in 1980 (Paris and LIsieux), 1983 (Lourdes), 1986 (Lyon, Taizé, Paray-le-Monial, Ars and Annecy), 1988 (Strasbourg, Metz, Nancy, Mont-Sainte-Odile and Mulhouse), 1996 (Tours, Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, Auray and Rheims), 1997 (JMJ de Paris) and 2004 (Lourdes). Benedict XVI visited once, in 2008 (Paris and Lourdes).
At the same time, the Vatican published the program for the visit of under four hours that the Pope will make next November 25th in Strasbourg to the European Parliament. France’s official welcome in Strasbourg will have to be limited to the presence of a minister, in order to show that the Pope is not making an official visit to the country.
(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – La Croix – DICI no. 393, 24/10/14
