HIS Holiness Pope Benedict XVl is to visit Britain next year – which will be only the second Papal tour here in 500 years The Pope has accepted Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s invitation to visit “all parts of the UK” so is expected to visit Northern Ireland.

Pope John Paul ll had a rapturous reception when he visited Britain in 1982 but he did not travel to Ulster, then still locked in bitter conflict.

But the inclusion of Northern Ireland in next year’s itinerary is being seen as a signal of reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. Father Denis Blackledge from Corpus Christie in Boscombe was “delighted” at the news of the Papal visit.

“I’m sure it will give great encouragement, not just to Catholics, but to all people of goodwill,” he told me. “It will be wonderful for the Pope to address the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall and should also be a step in the right direction to a greater unity among Christians.”

Father Anthony Pennicott at the Sacred Heart Church in Bournemouth’s town centre said: “I think it is significant that the Holy Father has been invited formally by the government in the manner of a State visit, as opposed to a Church invitation for a pastoral visit, which I believe was the case in 1982 when Pope John Paul II visited.

“And if he were able to be respectfully welcomed in Northern Ireland, this would help greatly to strengthen the peace process.

“I am sure his visit will be a great boost to the Catholic community and indeed, I hope, for the whole Christian community in the UK, although I doubt it will have the level of excitement generated by John Paul II, who was a far more charismatic personality.”

The Pope’s visit is expected to take place in the autumn and include a series of grand-scale services around the UK.