Pope Francis will visit Ireland at the end of August but no scheduled stops have been pencilled in for Co Clare.
On Monday the itinerary of thePope’s pastoral visit to the ninth World Meeting of Families in Ireland on the 25th and 26th of August was unveiled.
He will arrive in Dublin Airport on the Saturday morning before being transferred to Áras an Uachtaráin for an official welcome from President Michael D. Higgins. He will stay in Dublin for the remainder of the day travelling to Dublin Castle, St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, The Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People and Croke Park.
By midday, Pope Francis will have made two flights, one to Knock and a return trip back to Dublin. His journey to Mayo is specifically to visit Knock. When he returns to the capital, the Pope will celebrate a mass in Phoenix Park and then hold a meeting with the Bishops. He is scheduled to depart the country at 18:45 on Sunday August 26th.
When his papacy began in March 2013, Pope Francis the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, the first from the Americas, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. He also became Bishop of Kilfenora and the Argentine will not be stopping off in the North Clare village despite holding the episcopal title. Calls had also been made for a visit to Holy Island to be included in the itinerary.
