{"id":134,"date":"2009-09-23T22:49:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-23T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/09\/and-now-england-gets-ready-for-a-really-big-ben.html"},"modified":"2009-09-23T22:49:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-23T22:49:00","slug":"and-now-england-gets-ready-for-a-really-big-ben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/09\/and-now-england-gets-ready-for-a-really-big-ben.html","title":{"rendered":"And now, England gets ready for a really Big Ben"},"content":{"rendered":"

As in Benedict the Pope, who is reportedly headed to England<\/a> next year: <\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Britain in 2010, the BBC has learned.<\/p>\n

It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II’s six-day tour drew huge crowds.<\/p>\n

The news of Pope Benedict’s visit comes after Gordon Brown extended a formal invitation to the Pope during a private audience in February.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the prime minister said he was “delighted” and “it would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country”.<\/p>\n

Details of his visit have yet to emerge but the trip is set to be the first official state visit by a pontiff – John Paul II’s visit in May 1982 was on a pastoral basis and did not follow an official invitation by the UK government.<\/p>\n

Masses were held in cities including Cardiff, London, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh and he also met the Queen and Archbishop of Canterbury.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “The PM is obviously delighted at the prospect of a visit from Pope Benedict XVI to Britain.<\/p>\n

“It would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country and he would undoubtedly receive the warmest of welcomes.”<\/p>\n

Conservative leader David Cameron said he was “delighted” to hear of the possible visit.<\/p>\n

He said: “Such a visit – the first in over a quarter of a century – would be greatly welcomed not only by Roman Catholics but by the country as a whole.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As in Benedict the Pope, who is reportedly headed to England next year: Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Britain in 2010, the BBC has learned. It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II’s six-day tour drew huge crowds. The news of Pope Benedict’s visit comes after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-pope-and-bishops"],"yoast_head":"\nAnd now, England gets ready for a really Big Ben - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/09\/and-now-england-gets-ready-for-a-really-big-ben.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"And now, England gets ready for a really Big Ben - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As in Benedict the Pope, who is reportedly headed to England next year: Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Britain in 2010, the BBC has learned. 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