Pope Francis will make his first trip to the Holy Land in May, visiting Jordan, Israel and the West Bank.
Pope Francis making the announcement of his trip to the Holy Land in May. Photo: AFP
He will visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem in the West Bank, and Amman, the capital of Jordan, from 24 - 26 May.
The announcement was made in St. Peter's Square on Sunday - the 50th anniversary of a meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople in 1964.
Pope John Paul II visited the region in 2000 and Benedict XVI went in 2009.
Francies had been invited to visit by both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and President Shimon Peres of Israel.