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UK in the Holy See

• UK-Holy See relations
• Papal visit 2010
• Day One - 16 September
• Day Two - 17 September
• Day Three - 18 September
• Day Four - 19 September
• International development
• Climate Change
• Human Rights
• Disarmament and non-proliferation
• Useful links
• Country profile

Papal visit 2010

The first ever official Papal visit to the UK took place from 16 to 19 September 2010. During the historic trip Pope Benedict XVI visited Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham for a wide range of State and pastoral events and meetings.
The visit represented an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen ties between the UK and the Holy See on global initiatives such as international development, poverty reduction and climate change, and to emphasise the important role of faith in creating strong communities.

At a dinner hosted by Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Government and the Papal delegation released a Joint Communiqué on the eve of a summit in New York to review progress towards implementing the Millennium Development Goals. The Communiqué agreed that more needs to be done to address the unnecessary suffering caused by hunger, disease and illiteracy.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the UK as both Head of State and as the leader of a major religion. On behalf of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes oversaw and managed the Government preparations for the visit.

More detail on the four-day visit, including summaries of the main events and the full texts of the Pope’s speeches, please click on the left navigation column.

See also

'Papal visit will strengthen ties between UK and Holy See' (14 September 2010)

Global conversations

Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala guest blogger on Papal visit (British Ambassador to Guatemala's blog, 10 September 2010)

Useful links

• Catholic Bishops' Conference website for the Papal visit
• Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom (Holy See website)

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