Irish visit: A visit to Ireland by the new Pope would be supported fully by the Government, Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said in Rome yesterday. He said the issuing of a formal invitation was a matter for the Irish Catholic bishops but he expected this would happen, writes Liam Reid in Rome
He was speaking after a visit to the tomb of Pope John Paul II in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica. Mr Ahern also spent a few minutes in the small chapel of St Columbanus, which was established at the request of the Irish Embassy to the Holy See in the 1950s.
Last November, Mr Ahern had a private audience with Pope John Paul II, along with his wife Maeve and a number of Irish officials. "Having had a private audience with the Pope last November, which was a very moving occasion, it was nice to come back to pay my respects," he said.
"We will be extending an invitation to the new Pope to come to Ireland as soon as possible."