The parents of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann are hoping to meet the Pope to discuss the plight of their daughter, their spokesman said today.
Kate and Gerry McCann, both Catholics, are expected to attend a general audience in Rome on Wednesday. It will be the start of a series of visits the couple are planning to make around Europe.
They are very keen to keep Madeleine's case in the public eye in the hope that she may still be found. It is 24 days since she was taken from her bed as she slept in the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve.
Clarence Mitchell, the British Foreign Office's liaison officer for the family, is helping the McCanns plan the trip.
"I can confirm that approaches have been made to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and to the British ambassador to the Holy See and we are certainly exploring the possibility of Gerry and Kate McCann visiting Rome to meet the Pope in the near future," he said.
According to Vatican protocol, the family had to express a desire to go to Rome before the trip could be finally approved.
Representatives of the Pope were said to be very "receptive" to the idea of a meeting. Mr and Mrs McCann have been offered the use of a private plane to make the trip by a multi-million pound British entrepreneur.
The couple are very conscious of appearing to be enjoying a luxury lifestyle and may use the jet because it is the most practical. They are planning a number of trips across Europe, including Madrid, Saville, Berlin and Amsterdam.