THERE WAS an air of calm preparation in Edinburgh yesterday as army regiment bands in full regalia rehearsed a march at Holyrood House and a large number of media satellite vans gathered nearby.
In the streets around Holyrood House there was little visible sign to herald the first meeting there of Pope Benedict XVI and Queen Elizabeth.
At 10.30 this morning the pope will begin his four-day visit when he arrives on an Alitalia flight from Rome at Edinburgh airport. He will be greeted there by the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady and the Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Alan Harper arrived in Edinburgh yesterday to take part in events surrounding the papal visit.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin will attend the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham on Sunday. It was a predecessor of Dr Martin’s, Cardinal Paul Cullen, who invited Cardinal Newman to become the rector of the Catholic University in Dublin in 1851.
Cardinal Brady said he was “very much looking forward to this papal visit to Britain. I am delighted to be able to accept invitations, from various church and state bodies, to attend engagements and liturgical events at which His Holiness will be present.
“Over the coming days the Holy Father will address young people and the elderly and we can also expect reflections on the value of Catholic education and on the relationship between faith and civil society, and amongst religious denominations.”
