Pope hand-picked Ireland in hope of 2018 visit

Francis has a ‘special affection’ for Ireland

EXCLUSIVE

Michael Kelly and Cathal Barry in Rome

Pope Francis personally chose Ireland to host the 2018 World Meeting of Families in the hope of making a trip for the occasion, The Irish Catholic can reveal.

It is understood that the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family had been proposing a number of other locations for the 2018 event, but that the Pontiff instead intervened and earmarked Dublin.

Highly-placed Vatican sources confirmed to The Irish Catholic this week that the choice of Dublin came personally from the Pope rather than a proposal from the Irish bishops or a Vatican office. They said the Pontiff indicated that his desire to visit Ireland is a key reason why he tapped Dublin as host.

One official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State told The Irish Catholic that the Pontiff has a strong desire to make a visit to Ireland and while there had been talk of 2016, the World Meeting of Families two years later provided the ideal springboard for such a trip.

Vatican sources said that, if the trip goes ahead, in addition to Dublin, the Pope is likely to visit at least one location North of the border – possibly Armagh or Derry -–and at least one other site in the Republic, most probably Our Lady’s Shrine at Knock, Co. Mayo. However, he did not rule out the possibility of other stops on the trip. The only potential stumbling block to the trip that Vatican officials envisage would be a deterioration in the Pontiff’s health, however, they also point out that he enjoys extremely robust health at present. 

In the event of the trip going ahead, serious consideration will also be given to the possibility of Pope Francis addressing a joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas in Leinster House.

However, officials stressed the importance of not deflecting attention away from the central purpose of the visit, the World Meeting of Families. 

This cornerstone event would likely include at least a papal vigil presided over by Francis and an open-air Mass which the Pope would celebrate in Dublin.