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POPE-FRANCE Mar-7-2008 (220 words) xxxi
French newspaper says pope is planning September trip to France
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI is planning a September trip to France, traveling to Paris and the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, a French newspaper reported.
The pope's Sept. 12-15 trip will begin in Paris, according to the newspaper Le Figaro. He will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy shortly after his arrival, it said.
On Sept. 13, the pope is expected to celebrate Mass in Paris in the morning and have an evening encounter with cultural leaders. He will fly to Lourdes later in the day.
In Lourdes, the pope will take part in jubilee year celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. The commemorative year ends Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The pope is expected to celebrate an open-air Mass Sept. 14 at the Marian shrine and later meet with French bishops, the newspaper said.
The Vatican had no immediate comment on the report, but Vatican trip planners were said to be traveling to France in mid-March to prepare the details of the visit.
The pope has two other foreign trips planned for 2008: an April 15-20 visit to the United States and a trip in late July to World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia.
END
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