VATICAN CITY — The Holy See has officially published the itinerary for Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to the Holy Land, during which he is slated to travel to Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

During the May 24-26 trip, he will meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. When the papal visit was announced by Pope Francis himself during his Jan. 5 Sunday Angelus address, he revealed that the principal goal of the trip is “to commemorate the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch Athenagoras I that occurred … 50 years ago today.”

In January 1964, Pope Paul VI traveled to the Holy Land. He met with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on the Mount of Olives on Jan. 5.

This historic meeting led to an improved relationship between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, including a momentous joint declaration issued in 1965, in which both leaders expressed their desire “to overcome their differences in order to be again ‘one,’ as the Lord Jesus asked of his Father for them.”

Responding to questions regarding the current strike of diplomatic personnel in the Israeli foreign ministry, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi expressed his hope that they would soon be able to resume the formal contacts with the authorities responsible for the proper preparation for the visit.

The itinerary of the Pope’s visit is as follows:

Saturday, May 24, 2014

08:15 Departure from Rome Fiumicino Airport for Amman.

13:00 Arrival at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.

13:45 ARRIVAL CEREMONY in the al-Husseini Royal Palace in Amman.

COURTESY VISIT TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN OF JORDAN.

14:20 MEETING WITH THE AUTHORITIES OF THE KINGDOM OF JORDAN. Discourse of the Holy Father.

16:00 HOLY MASS at the International Stadium in Amman. Homily of the Holy Father.

19:00 Visit to the Baptismal Site at Bethany Beyond the Jordan.

19:15 MEETING WITH REFUGEES AND DISABLED YOUNG PEOPLE in the Latin Church at Bethany Beyond the Jordan. Discourse of the Holy Father.

 

Sunday, May 25, 2014

8:15 FAREWELL FROM JORDAN at the Queen Alia Internal Airport in Amman.

8:30 Departure by helicopter from the Queen Alia Internal Airport in Amman for Bethlehem.

9:20 Arrival at the helicopter port of Bethlehem.

9:30 ARRIVAL CEREMONY at the Presidential Palace in Bethlehem.

COURTESY VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF PALESTINE.

10:00 MEETING WITH THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY — Discourse of the Holy Father.

11:00 HOLY MASS in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Homily of the Holy Father.

REGINA COELI PRAYER. Allocution of the Holy Father.

13:30 Lunch with families from Palestine in the Franciscan convent of Casa Nova in Bethlehem.

15:00 PRIVATE VISIT TO THE GROTTO OF THE NATIVITY IN BETHLEHEM.

15:20 GREETING OF CHILDREN FROM THE REFUGEE CAMPS OF DEHEISHEH, AIDA AND BEIT JIBRIN at the Phoenix Center of the Deheisheh Refugee Camp.

15:45 FAREWELL FROM THE STATE OF PALESTINE at the helicopter port of Bethlehem.

16:00 Departure by helicopter from the helicopter port of Bethlehem for Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

16:30 ARRIVAL CEREMONY at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Discourse of the Holy Father.

17:15 Transfer by helicopter to Jerusalem.

17:45 Arrival at the helicopter port of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus.

18:15 Private meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople at the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem. Signing of a joint declaration.

19.00 ECUMENICAL MEETING on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Discourse of the Holy Father.

20:15 Dinner With the Patriarchs and Bishops and the Papal Suite at the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

 

Monday, May 26, 2014

8:15 VISIT TO THE GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM in the building of the Great Council on the Esplanade of the Mosques. Discourse of the Holy Father.

9:10 VISIT TO THE WESTERN WALL in Jerusalem.

9:45 Laying a wreath at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

10.00 VISIT TO YAD VASHEM in Jerusalem. Discourse of the Holy Father.

10:45 COURTESY VISIT TO THE TWO CHIEF RABBIS at Heichal Shlomo Center in Jerusalem, next to the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Discourse of the Holy Father.

11:45 COURTESY VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem. Discourse of the Holy Father.

13:00 PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL at Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem.

13:30 Lunch With the Papal Suite at Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem.

15:30 Private visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople at the building next to the Orthodox Church of Viri Galileai on the Mount of Olives.

16:00 MEETING WITH PRIESTS, MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND SEMINARIANS in the Church of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Discourse of the Holy Father.

17:20 HOLY MASS WITH THE ORDINARIES OF THE HOLY LAND AND THE PAPAL SUITE in the room of the Cenacle in Jerusalem. Homily of the Holy Father.

19:30 Transfer by helicopter from the helicopter port on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

20:00 FAREWELL FROM THE STATE OF ISRAEL at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

20:15 Departure from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv for Ciampino Airport in Rome.

23:00 Arrival at Ciampino Airport in Rome.