closeicon
World

Pope’s two-day visit to Israel is ‘chiefly religious’

articlemain

Pope Francis’s two-day visit to the Holy Land is expected to go ahead, despite the strike at Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

According to a source involved in planning the visit in May, the pope will land first in Jordan, travel to Bethlehem in the Palestinian territories and then spend a day in Jerusalem.

“He will meet the leaders of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians, but this is chiefly a religious visit,” said the source.

In Jerusalem Pope Francis will attend a private mass at the Cenacle, on Mount Zion, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’s last supper.

The building is also believed to contain the tomb of King David and there is opposition among strictly Orthodox Jews to an impending Israel-Vatican deal which will return its custodianship to the Franciscan religious order.

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive