The countdown has begun for Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival in France on Friday September 12th where in four days’ time he will visit Paris and Lourdes. Originally invited to Lourdes to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin to Bernadette, the Pope decided to stop in Paris as well for some important meetings. There’s great expectation within the Catholic community in France for the Holy Father’s coming. This morning in Paris at the premises of the French Bishops Conference, card. André Vingt-Yrois, archbishop of Paris and president of the French Bishops, held a press conference. The Pope will reach the capital and will go to president Sarkozy, to reciprocate the visit the president paid to the Holy Father in the Vatican on December 20th 2007. In the afternoon he will unveil the new cultural centre of the diocese of Paris, the College des Bernardins, where the Pope will give a much-awaited speech to the "world of culture". (continued)
