Colm Fitzpatrick
Pope Francis will now visit Knock during his brief visit to Ireland in August, The Irish Catholic understands.
Senior Church sources have indicated that a public announcement will be made shortly, raising hopes that there may still be a change of heart that would see a brief visit to the North added to the itinerary.
The schedule may now include the Pope flying to Knock first before travelling to Dublin.
It is understood that the news of the Knock engagement has caused Northern bishops to intensify their behind the scenes lobbying for a papal stopover.
One source told The Irish Catholic that disappointment was increasingly turning into frustration at the perceived opposition of the Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin to such a trip.
