The President, Mrs McAleese, is due to meet Pope John Paul II in a Vatican audience this morning in the Apostolic Library. Vatican sources this week suggested that that the frail 78-year-old Pope may do more listening than talking during their expected 20-minute chat.
Their discussion is expected to focus on both the Northern Ireland peace process and ecumenical issues. Afterwards, the President will be received by the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. They are expected to discuss issues ranging from the peace process to matters of international concern.
In view of the comment the President's predecessor, Mrs Mary Robinson, aroused concerning her attire at a similar meeting in 1996, the President's staff this week issued details of the clothes she will wear this morning: a full-length black coat with a fine lace shawl on her head and shoulders, with a black skirt and stone-coloured tunic.
Yesterday the President visited the non-Vatican religious community of Sant'Egidio, the Dominican Sisters of Villa Rosa, the Pontifical Irish College, the Irish Embassy to the Vatican and the tombs of Hugh O'Neill and Roderick O'Donnell, all in Rome.
Appearing very relaxed, the President had words of comfort, encouragement and admiration for her various audiences. Highlighting the work which Sant'Egidio does with Rome's often penniless and hungry non-EU immigrant community, the President said both the Irish and Italians knew about the pain and suffering of emigration, and this knowledge should make both peoples more sensitive to the plight of emigrants.
At the Dominican Community, the President recalled the "good education" she had received at St Dominic's High School in the Falls Road, Belfast. She praised the work of the order in developing countries, citing the fact that Dominican schools were among the first to open their doors to children of all races in South Africa, contrary to then apartheid policies.