Pontiff announces that he will journey to Holy Land, just as John Kerry returns from latest push for peace in the region
Pope Francis has announced that he will travel to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, his first visit to the Holy Land and one that comes amid a new US push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Francis told people gathered in the rain for his weekly Sunday blessing that he was announcing, "in the climate of joy that is typical of the Christmas season", the three-day visit to Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem from 24–26 May.
It is the only trip so far confirmed for 2014 and the second foreign trip of Francis's pontificate, following his 2013 visit to Brazil for World Youth Day.
Francis said the prime aim was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and the then-spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, ecumenical patriarch Atengora.
Francis will be joined by the current ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew. They will celebrate mass together at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the faithful believe Jesus was crucified and buried, Francis said.
But the visit will also underscore Francis's close ties to the Jewish community and the Vatican's longstanding call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The announcement was made just as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, wrapped up three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a new bid for peace.
In his Christmas address last month, Francis singled out the Holy Land for prayers, saying: "Bless the land where you chose to come into the world, and grant a favourable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.".
The Argentinian Jesuit will be the fourth pope to visit the Holy Land: Paul VI visited in 1964, John Paul II in 2000, and Benedict XVI in 2009.
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