HOLY FATHER'S STATE VISIT TO BRITAIN SEPTEMBER 2010

www.keysofpeter.org/w.project/Walsingham-Project.htm

Link to the Walsingham Project and Crusade For England - particularly relevant at this time.

The shop on the official Papal Visit website is now open for business. And I must say all those T shirt designs tempt me! I've just ordered the mug and a couple of keyrings for the moment, but I doubt if I shall stop at that. The prices are inflated, but it's going to a good cause.


And some unofficial designs available in hoodies - I may get one of these, as it could be a bit chilly in the night and early morning.

The success of the Pope's visit matters to all of us

Telegraph View: Any attempts to humiliate the Pontiff during his visit would damage Britain.

Telegraph.co.uk
Published: 7:51PM BST 06 Aug 2010

We are now little more than a month away from the first state visit to Britain by a Pope. On September 16, Benedict XVI will fly to Scotland, where he will be received by the Queen at Holyrood House. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, also met Her Majesty when he visited this country in 1982 – a historic meeting, but essentially a courtesy call during a pastoral visit to the Catholics of Britain. This time, the Queen will be playing the formal role of host to a fellow head of state, who is also the spiritual leader of a billion people. Pope Benedict XVI will be, to use the traditional phrase, the honoured guest of the British people. But will he be honoured – or will his enemies in public life use the opportunity to humiliate him?

One might imagine that this Pope would be safer from attack than his predecessor. Old-fashioned anti-Popery is not the force that it was in 1982, because the community of anti-papal fundamentalists has shrunk, along with the Christian community in general. But alongside religious indifference has arisen a strident secularism that actively despises Christianity. (On the whole it is too nervous to attack Islam.) According to this school of thought, Roman Catholicism is the most contemptible of Churches, and its leader, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the ideal target for criticism. Like millions of German men born in the 1920s, he was dragooned into the Hitler Youth and served in the German Army at the end of the Second World War. This allows his cruder critics to label him, libellously, as a Nazi.

His more sophisticated critics argue that, as a senior cardinal, he covered up child abuse. This charge – levelled obsessively by sections of the media – falls apart under scrutiny. Moreover, since taking office, Benedict XVI has done far more than John Paul II to address this scandal. Even so, a double misconception has taken hold. First, that the Pontiff is complicit in crimes of paedophilia; second, that in welcoming him here, the Government, and therefore the taxpayer, is turning a blind eye to wicked abuse.

It was Gordon Brown who initiated this state visit, but it falls to the current Prime Minister to ensure its success. Already David Cameron has saved it from organisational chaos by appointing Lord Patten of Barnes to co-ordinate the secular and religious aspects of the exercise. More needs to be done, however. Freedom of speech must be respected; but it would be wrong for the licence fee or any other public money to be used to pay for biased and mean-spirited attacks on the Pope. Both the BBC and the Government set great store by "celebrating other cultures". Benedict XVI's arrival is an opportunity to celebrate a culture that planted our Christian roots; for it was a Pope who sent St Augustine to Britain.

This state invitation does not require Anglicans and other Christians to recognise papal authority. But, as the Archbishop of Canterbury recognises, if Benedict XVI is greeted with hostility and manufactured scandals, then British Christianity as a whole will be weakened.

And, in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world, our national reputation will be damaged. The Pope's visit is more than a great event for Catholics: it is a test of Britain's professionalism, hospitality, tolerance and maturity.

All eyes on the Pope as he visits ‘Protestant Britannia’

belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Tuesday, 10 August 2010

The Pontiff’s audience with the Queen may prove to be a stepping stone to her planned visit to the Republic, says John Cooney.

Imagine dear Ireland as if it were a boat.

The prospect of its floundering would not be too remote.

And as the boat goes under to be lost beyond all hope,

From the deck you will hear 'God Save the Queen',

From the bridge, 'Long Live the Pope'.

This piece of doggerel encapsulates the sectarian divisions that have scarred relations between Ulster Protestants and Irish Catholics ever since the 16th-Century Reformation.

On a global scale, Britain, the foremost Protestant nation through the rabid religiosity of the English and the Scots, mobilised its empire in aggressive opposition to papal power, while Catholic Ireland spawned its own spiritual diaspora by exporting generations of priests and people to the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In the perspective of this fire and dungeon history, it is a stunning turnaround that Pope Benedict has selected 'Protestant Britannia' ahead of 'Catholic Ireland' for an official state visit next month.

Even more remarkably, Pope Benedict will meet his host, Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Anglican Church of England, in Edinburgh, the capital of Presbyterianism.

That the Queen, a constitutional monarch, is meeting the Pontiff in Scotland rather than in her native England, may prove to be a stepping stone toward her planned trip to the Republic.

The warmth of the reception of Scottish Catholics to the spectacle of Queen Elizabeth welcoming Pope Benedict will be a weather-gauge for the timing of a Royal visit to Ireland.

While the organisers expect a good crowd to attend the papal open-air Mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park, the event will be hard put to generate the excitement that greeted Pope John Paul II when he took Scotland by storm in 1982.

In 1982, there was a generous allocation of tickets for Catholics in Ireland who wanted to travel to Glasgow for a second viewing of the Polish Pontiff whom they had lionised during his 1979 visit here.

However, this time, a modest allocation of some 2,500 'pilgrim passes' has been allocated to Catholics in Northern Ireland for the more sedate German Pontiff.

But it is expected that once Armagh receives its allocation, tickets from the autonomous Episcopal Conference of Scotland will be distributed as evenly as possible among the 26 dioceses to emphasise the all-Ireland character of the Irish Bishops' Conference.

A different matter may be the English leg of Pope Benedict's four-day visit. England and Wales have their own joint Conference of Bishops which, though it liaises regularly with its Irish and Scottish counterparts, has assigned tickets only to English and Welsh parishes.

And it remains to be seen if the heavy security surrounding the Pontiff will frustrate secularists from carrying out threats to have Pope Benedict arrested to face prosecution from victims of clerical child abuse. Bishop Philip Tartaglia, who heads the Communications Commission in Scotland, expects "the dying embers" of the child abuse scandal to be "fanned into flames" by the media.

Fraught as the visit will be from the spectres of secularisation in England and sectarianism in Scotland, veteran journalist Bill Heaney predicts Catholics in Britain will turn out in large numbers to give Pope Benedict as warm a welcome as they did for John Paul in 1982.

The reception in Britain will be monitored closely by the Irish bishops as a trial run for achieving their ambition to have the Pontiff in Dublin in 2012 for the International Eucharistic Congress.

Page on the official Papal Visit website, showing the CD which is to be sent out to pilgrims on September 6th.

Two MP3 tracks are on the page and can be downloaded. I can't say the music inspired me; it strikes me as being a bit mournful. I prefer Jesus Christ You Are My Life and Wer Glaubt Ist Nie Allein. I think you've got to have something which rocks on this sort of CD. Another track is Panis Angelicus, which is all right, but has been overdone in recent years. I'd have preferred Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris Hostia. I've recently downloaded God Bless The Pope - if I burn it to a CD will it be played on the coach? Yeah, man!! Thanks to benedetto.fan who posted the video with this great hymn!

Taken this morning with my Vatican City flag. Julia, Father Bob and....well, you can see who it is!!!!!! This pic is for the local paper. I thought I'd lost a bit of weight. Must be something wrong with my camera!

oh mary, voll kraus, lucky girl! but what does "delegation" mean? does it mean that only this little group is going to croton park? no, that is not true, isn't it?

Great pic, Mary

...and you have lost weight. Can't wait till you get to see Papa in Britain.

You look wonderful Mary! Say, is there a link where one can order one of those shirts? The Joseph Ratzinger one and the Papa Benny one are uber cute!!!

I've looked into:







I love the YES HE CAN - I'm planning to get one for next years obligitory visit to Cape Cod - I think it will generate some conversations with the staunchly Democrat side of the family... hehehe!

EWTN to Air Pope's Historic U.K. Visit Live

Exclusive Interviews, Expert Commentary Available

IRONDALE, Ala., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will provide live coverage of every public event during Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to England and Scotland Sept. 16-19, numerous original productions on the life and works of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who will be beatified by the Pope during his visit, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Coverage will be seen and heard on all nine EWTN Television Networks worldwide, and can be heard in English, Spanish, French and German; on EWTN Radio Network, and at www.ewtn.com through live streaming video. (Find EWTN Television at www.ewtn.com/channelfinder and EWTN Radio at www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.htm or on Sirius Satellite Channel 160.)

Special live coverage will be provided by EWTN News Anchor Raymond Arroyo, who has covered more papal events than anyone in the industry and who obtained the only English language interview in existence today with the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

"To my mind, this visit to the U.K. is to Pope Benedict XVI's papacy what Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland was to his," said "World Over" Host Raymond Arroyo, who will anchor EWTN's coverage. "Not enough attention is being paid to the historicity of this seismic moment."

EWTN's coverage of these events will include exclusive interviews with Deacon John "Jack" Sullivan, who prayed to Newman for healing after watching a series on the saint on EWTN and whose resulting miracle is responsible for Newman's beatification; Cormack Murphy O'Connor, former Archbishop of Westminster, who worked tirelessly behind-the-scenes to make this papal trip possible; Lord David Alton, a member of Parliament, who will discuss the government's view of the trip and what Catholics can expect; Westminster's current Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams, and many others!

You'll also travel to the Birmingham Oratory and the rooms in which Newman lived and worked; Westminster Hall, where St. Thomas More was condemned to death; the Guild Chapel and much more.

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 30th year, is available in 160 million television households in 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.

Looking ahead to the Pope, pilgrims and prayers

By Joe Wilson
BBC Radio Lancashire
August 17, 2010

Many of Lancashire's Roman Catholics don't know which way to turn this week!

Are they to head north to Scotland or south to Birmingham when the Pope visits England and Scotland in next month?

They will also be factoring in the cost of on site food, souvenirs and such like which may not come at what might be termed Christian prices.

Balance that with the spiritual need to see and hear mass said by the man they see as a descendant of St. Peter, spiritually infallible and the earthly leader of their faith.

For Roman Catholics this is a landmark visit and almost certainly the only chance they will get to see this 83-year-old Pope on British soil. Indeed, this is only the second visit to Britain by a Pope in living memory. It should be a glorious occasion and an ideal affirmation of their faith.

Downside

There is also a downside. The visit follows much-publicised child abuse scandals and in particular, what many see as the faltering response of the Pope and the wider church to those allegations. These have left many non-believers immensely sceptical of the church.

Others, including the Lancashire Secular Humanists, are set to protest about the cost of the Pope's visit and who is going to pay for it. Ian Abbot, their chairperson, told us: "The Pope should not be afforded a state visit because he is the head of a state whose policies many would find unacceptable."

Ian cited Catholic teaching on gay issues, HIV and what he saw as a lack of sexual equality in their teaching.

So, over the next few weeks I'm sure we will be reporting on the Pope, pilgrims and prayers. But there will also be mention of protests. How extensive they will be remains to be seen.

Bishop Vincent Malone from the Archdiocese of Liverpool told BBC Radio Lancashire about the anticipation of Catholics in the area. Father Andrew Allman agreed with him but also suggested some media might use the visit to be unnecessarily negative about Catholicism.

This week our programme began the countdown to his visit by asking how is the Roman Catholic church gearing up for the Pope's arrival.

Touch down

Let's start with the basics; Pope Benedict XVI will touch down in Edinburgh on Thursday 16 September.

He will be received at Holyrood House by Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal Family. He will then go on to celebrate open air mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow before flying on to London.

After various functions and events, on his final day Sunday 19 September, the pontiff will travel north to Birmingham for the open air beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman at Cofton Park.

This is the first official papal visit. When Pope John Paul II toured the country in 1982, though a massive occasion, it was not an official state visit and was purely pastoral occasion.

The forthcoming arrival of Pope Benedict is deemed to be the first state visit of a Pope.

There is some discreet debate about this, in a briefing I attended it was acknowledged that technically a state visit requires a state banquet and His Holiness doesn't do state banquets.

The whole four-day visit could cost as much as £19m. The final figures are still unclear, but it is agreed the costs are rising and the taxpayer could be asked to contribute up to £12m with the Roman Catholic Church stumping up £7m.

Catholic congregations throughout the country have been asked to contribute. Those figures do not include the policing costs for the visit.

Pope John Paul II's visit to Britain in 1982

The feel of the visit seems to be very different from the previous occasion that a pontiff toured these islands. Then there seemed to be far less cynical scrutiny and there seemed to be a far more relaxed climate, even thought he country was at war and the Northern Irish difficulties were rarely from our thoughts.

Back in 1982, for Pope John Paul's visit there were fewer health and safety regulations, the ticketing policy was "just turn up" and the security was seen to be tight but not to the almost stranglehold proportions we will see in September.

I was a fledging apprentice BBC worker when Pope John Paul II came to say mass at Heaton Park in Prestwich on 31 May 1982.

We were bussed into the park the night before and expected to stay awake until the crowds had dispersed. I lived about seven miles from the venue and remember getting a notice through my letterbox telling me I was in a parking exclusion zone for the visit and should keep my car on the drive.

It was the time of the Falklands conflict and the Irish troubles so there was a very real possibility of car bomb attacks.

There were also fears for the pontiff's own health. The Pope was visiting us exactly a year after he had been shot in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Hence, he travelled in the Leyland-built pope mobile. I remember our Programme Editor referring to these difficulties in his briefing to us on the night before the coverage: "Should the unthinkable happen again," we were told, "be calm and don't panic."

Memorable

That said, I don't recall security being obviously tight beyond those vehicle limitations. I'm sure Greater Manchester Police, led in those days by the almost legendary Chief Constable James Anderton, had all bases covered but their plans didn't get in the way of a marvellous and memorable occasion.

The organisers expected around half a million and got about half of that so the proposed tour of the park by the Pope was altered to suit. The BBC were left with several reporters, including BBC Radio Lancashire's Mike West, stationed at some outpost with no crowds for company and the prospect of seeing only a distant far away image of the Pope.

It was one of those days you never forget.

As the Pope celebrated mass before the crowds, the BBC allowed us a few minutes to leave our temporary Portacabin studio to climb the hill amongst the throng and to get closer to the Pope so that we could say we had seen him.

We were ushered nearer by the many Manchester-based Polish people who had offered their services to guard this most important visit by one of their own. I got to within a 100 yards of the Pope and remember seeing him sitting on his high throne-like chair amidst the crowd as a homily was being said.

Lampooning

In those days John Paul II was seen as something of a pop star Pope. He was the first pontiff in modern times to fly the word to better connect with his people.

The Roman Catholic Church looked to him for modernisation and guidance through the emerging secular thinking that so often seemed to be at odds with their beliefs. Most notably they awaited his words on sexual and ethical issues such as abortion and contraception.

In time, Pope John Paul II would do little more than re-enforce existing church thinking on these matters, but there were many in 1982 who felt this Pope would take a more liberated view. They saw this man as being the first of a new breed of Pope, one who understood them better. He was modern, well liked in the press many warmed to him more after his affectionate lampooning from Spitting Image.

Now, 28 years later, we have a different kind of Pope coming to our country in different times. Privately, the Roman Catholic Church says the crowds may be bigger, though they concede they are guessing.

Many think interest will be high amongst the followers, but they feel the current pontiff doesn't have the wider non-Catholic box office appeal of Pope John Paul II, and so non-believers may be left unimpressed.

Hot wax

However, the Pope is the world wide leader of the 4.2 million Catholics in England and Wales. In Scotland, it was recently reported that there are now more Catholics than Protestants with 215,000 regularly going to church so no matter how many apathetic views are expressed there is still bound to be massive interest in his visit.

Each of our Lancashire Roman Catholic parishes have only been allocated around 60 tickets each. In the case of the Lancaster Diocese that is 30 for Glasgow and 30 for Birmingham.

To be eligible for one of these tickets you must be a parishioner at a local church. You also have to agree to travel on a parish coach and the restrictions don't stop there.

Everyone who goes has to register their name and address. All names will be checked on the way. This week we received the "what you can and can't bring" list. Banners and flags are ok, as are torches, folding chairs, kneelers and a camera.

Don't even think about canopies, BBQs, musical instruments, whistles, standing platforms, alcohol or candles. I suppose there are those who might raise an eye at the "no candles in the congregation at the mass" ruling, but they may alter their opinion at the first sign of hot wax dripping down on to their hands.

Cynical

Perhaps it's the cynical journalist in me, but I did wonder about the acceptance of flags and banners which at best hinder views and at worst can have somebody's eye out! Then again, they do look good on the telly and I wonder how much of this entire visit is also about ensuring this rare opportunity is used to put a best possible light on the church.

Undoubtedly, this visit has massive spiritual value to Christians and other faith communities. We shouldn't underplay that, but I also sense a renewed wind blowing in from the Roman Catholic authorities who want to use the event to give what they would see as a more accurate picture of their faith than has recently been portrayed.

We are still four weeks out from the Pope's arrival on that Thursday night. We at the BBC see this as one of the major events of the year and there will be extensive coverage both of the visit and the spiritual and news implications of what promises to be a fascinating three days.

maryjos, 15/08/2010 19.16:

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Taken this morning with my Vatican City flag. Julia, Father Bob and....well, you can see who it is!!!!!! This pic is for the local paper. I thought I'd lost a bit of weight. Must be something wrong with my camera!

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Beautiful photo!!!
Mary, you seem in good shape!


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The official schedule has appeared today on the Papal Visit website. They also have a different photo as a banner every day. Altogether, it's been an excellent site....with more still to come, I hope.


Events Timeline
This is the full detailed schedule for the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK. Background detail on the venues can be found in our Itinerary section.
Thursday, 16 September
08:10 Departure from Ciampino Airport Rome
10:30 Arrival at Edinburgh International Airport Edinburgh
11:00 State Welcome and Audience with HM Queen Elizabeth II, Palace of Holyrood House
11:40 State Reception in the grounds of the Palace of Holyrood House
Address: HM The Queen
Address: The Holy Father
13:00 Private Lunch with the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Archbishop's House
17:15 Pope Benedict XVI presides at the celebration of Mass, Bellahouston Park
Homily: The Holy Father Glasgow
20:00 Departure from Glasgow Airport for London Heathrow
21:25 Arrival at London Heathrow Airport London

Friday, 17 September
08:00 Private Celebration of Mass in the Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature London
10:00 Celebration of Catholic Education, St Mary's University College, Twickenham
Prayer with Representatives of Religious Congregations in St Mary's Chapel
Greeting: The Holy Father
Gathering with Schoolchildren and Students, Sports Arena, including the inauguration of the John Paul II Institute for Sport
Address: The Holy Father
11:30 Meeting with Religious Leaders and People of Faith, Waldegrave Drawing Room, St Mary's University College, Twickenham.
Speech: The Holy Father
16:00 Fraternal Visit to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth Palace
Speech: Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Speech: The Holy Father
17:10 Address to Civil Society, Westminster Hall, Palace of Westminster
Speech: The Holy Father
18:15 Celebration of Evening Prayer, Westminster Abbey
Speech: The Holy Father
Speech: Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Saturday, 18 September
09:00 Courtesy Call from the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Archbishop's House, Westminster London
09:20 Courtesy Call from the Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, Archbishop's House, Westminster
09:30 Courtesy Call from the Acting Leader of HM Opposition, the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP, Archbishop's House, Westminster
10:00 Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Westminster
Pope Benedict will greet 2,500 young people gathered in the Piazza to welcome him
Pope Benedict will greet the people of Wales
Greeting and Homily: The Holy Father
17:00 Visit to St Peter's Residence for Older People, Vauxhall
Speech: The Holy Father
18:15 Prayer Vigil on the Eve of the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Hyde Park
Speech: The Holy Father

Sunday, 19 September
08:00 Farewell to the Apostolic Nunciature, Wimbledon London
08:45 Departure by Helicopter for Birmingham, Wimbledon Park
09:30 Arrival by Helicopter in Birmingham Birmingham
10:00 Celebration of Mass with the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Cofton Park, Birmingham
Homily and Angelus: The Holy Father
13:10 Private Visit to the Oratory of St Philip Neri, Edgbaston, Birmingham
13:45 Lunch with the Bishops of England, Scotland and Wales and the Papal Entourage, Oscott College
16:45 Meeting with the Bishops of England, Scotland and Wales, Seminary Chapel, Oscott College
Speech: Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien
Speech: Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Speech: The Holy Father
18:15 Departure Ceremony, Birmingham International Airport
Speech: The Holy Father
18:45 Departure by air from Birmingham International Airport
22:30 Arrival at Ciampino Airport Rome

Time Zones
Rome: +2 GMT
UK: +1 GMT

Pope Benedict 'likely' to meet abuse victims

Church source involved in drawing up pontiff's itinerary for September visit to UK would be 'surprised if it didn't happen', given gaps in schedule

Tom Kington in Rome
The Guardian,
Thursday 19 August 2010

Pope Benedict is likely to meet some of the people abused by priests when he visits Britain in September, according to a Catholic church source.

Involved in drawing up the itinerary for the 16-19 September visit, the source said he would be "surprised if it didn't happen" given the gaps left in Benedict's schedule, announced on Wednesday.

At 5pm on 18 September the pope will visit the St Peter's Residence retirement home in Lambeth, south London, to give a speech that the source said "will focus on end-of-life issues" – suggesting he will stress his opposition to euthanasia.

His previous commitment before visiting the home is mass at Westminster Cathedral at 10am – leaving him time that day for a possible meeting with victims of abuse by priests.

The pope met eight abuse victims during a visit to Malta in April, and he was reportedly reduced to tears. The meeting was part of the Vatican's response to the wave of abuse scandals that have damaged the Church.

The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, has previously said "careful consideration" was being given to organising meetings with victims during the pope's visit to Britain.

A British government source involved in the trip denied that the gaps in the pope's schedule were put there to give him plenty of resting time between appearances because of his age. "The pope may be 83, but this is a gruelling schedule by any standards," he said.

The 83-year-old pontiff is due to deliver 10 speeches and hold four masses during his visits to Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham, as well as meeting the Queen, David Cameron (for 20 minutes), and Nick Clegg (who will get 10).

Afternoon catnaps will keep the Pope fresh for his UK visit

By Daily Mail Reporter
19th August 2010

As every tourist knows, travelling can be exhausting.

So it's a good job that a series of catnaps have been scheduled into Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to England and Scotland.

The Pontiff's packed itinerary, disclosed yesterday by the Vatican, will be punctuated every afternoon by breaks of several hours to allow the 83-year-old to catch up on his sleep.

Pope Benedict XVI, 83, has been given several hours every day to rest and recover
But the Bavarian-born Pope will be cramming a lot into his waking hours - including private audiences with David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman.

An insider at the Vatican said the gaps in the schedule were deliberately included to give the Pope a chance to rest and recover his strength.

The source said: 'We are talking about a very gruelling and packed schedule which lasts from Thursday until the Sunday and there are several events, as well as a lot of travelling. The Holy Father will arrive in Scotland and spend the day there before travelling to London where he will spend the next two days and the final day will be in Birmingham.

'Let's not forget that he is 83 years old and like any elderly person he does get tired in the afternoon and he also gets up very early - he is up at 6am so a few hours' rest is to be expected.'

Pope Benedict's tour begins on September 16, when he flies from Rome to Edinburgh with Alitalia Airlines and will meet Queen Elizabeth at Holyrood Palace.

Before returning to Italy, he will take in Glasgow, London and Birmingham, including a visit to a church-run home for the elderly and a meeting with college students.

He has also been allocated a 20-minute appointment with the Prime Minister in London on the Saturday morning - but will spend only ten minutes with the deputy leader.

Susan Boyle will sing for Pope during UK visit

Glasgow, United Kingdom, Aug 19, 2010 / 12:45 am (CNA).- The surprise music sensation Susan Boyle will sing for Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the U.K., a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland has confirmed. Boyle will be joined by music star Michelle McManus, who is already scheduled to sing before the Papal Mass in Glasgow.

Responding to an inquiry from CNA, Peter Kearney, director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office (SCMO), said on Wednesday, “Susan will sing.”

He added that organizers hope to release more details at the beginning of next week.

Boyle, a middle-aged Scottish woman who sang in her Catholic parish’s choir for decades, became a sensation after her appearance on a British talent show. While the show’s audience reacted with hostility to her plain-looking appearance at first, they cheered with deep appreciation after her high-caliber rendition of the song “I Dreamed a Dream.”

The singer’s first album has sold millions of copies.

Other high-profile music performers will also participate in the papal visit.

Television and pop music star Michelle McManus has been scheduled to perform before the Sept. 16 Papal Mass in Glasgow during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.

McManus will perform “Home,” a song composed by her 22-year-old cousin Michael Brady. She will also sing the popular song “From a Distance,” the SCMO reports.

The singer became famous after winning ITV’s Pop Idol show in 2003. She is now a popular television presenter on the STV nightly show “The Hour.”

McManus has dedicated part of her time to caring for handicapped children on pilgrimage to the French Marian shrine of Lourdes.

A crowd of up to 100,000 people is expected at Bellahouston Park for the Mass and the event will have a potential broadcast audience of one billion people.

“I am truly honored to have been asked to perform at Bellahouston Park on the 16th September in celebration of the Pope’s visit to Scotland,” McManus commented. “What an amazing event to have staged here in our own country and as a very proud Scot and someone of faith I am delighted to be involved.”

Peter Kearney of the SCMO said organizers were “absolutely delighted” that the singer will perform at the Papal Mass. Her performance of a song written by her cousin will be “a very special moment” on what looks to be “a very special and historic day for Scotland.”

Papal Masses in Britain will use some new English texts

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
August 19, 2010

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- People attending Pope Benedict XVI's Masses in Scotland and England in September will get a chance to hear and sing a few of the newly translated Mass texts, according to the pope's chief liturgist.

Msgr. Guido Marini, papal master of liturgical ceremonies, told Catholic News Service Aug. 19 that the prayers sung in English at the papal Masses in Great Britain will use the translations from the new Order of the Mass approved by the Vatican in 2008.

"The songs from the Order of the Mass -- for example the Gloria -- will be from the new translation, which was approved a while ago," he said.

The words for the rest of the Mass prayers "will be from the text currently in use," he said, because when the papal Masses were being planned, the Vatican had not yet granted final approval to the bishops of Scotland, England and Wales for the complete English translation of the Roman Missal.

Although the new translation of the Order of the Mass, which contains the main prayers used at Mass, was approved by the Vatican two years ago, bishops' conferences in English-speaking countries decided to wait to introduce the prayers until the entire Roman Missal was translated and approved.

The new translation of the Mass was designed to follow more closely the text in the original Latin.

In the Gloria, which Msgr. Marini said would be sung during the papal trip, the new English text begins: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father."

The text currently in use begins: "Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory."