Pope Francis to visit the Holy Land by the end of 2020

It became known about the negotiations between Israel and the Vatican about the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land. As 'Vesti Israel' clarifies, although the exact date of the pontiff's arrival has not yet been determined, his arrival will take place closer to the end of this year.

On the eve of Christmas, the Pope was visited by the Mayor of Nazareth, Ali Salam, at his Vatican residence. He invited the head of the Roman Catholic Church to come to the Holy Land. Also during the conversation, an agreement was reached to rename one of the streets of Nazareth in honor of the founder of the Franciscan order, St. Francis. In addition, Ali Salam asked the Pope for assistance in establishing interethnic and interfaith peace in the Middle East. Pope Francis and the Mayor of Nazareth discussed the possibility of opening a university and other educational institutions in the city of Annunciation.

Ali Salam presented a T-shirt of the local sports club 'Ahi-Nazaret' to the Pope; Pope Francis, in turn, presented the mayor of the Israeli city with a memorial sign and a book with a dedicatory inscription.

Recall that Francis became the fourth pope to visit the state of Israel. His first the visit to the Holy Land took place in 2014. Then Pope Francis visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and celebrated Mass in the upper room of the Last Supper - and, in addition, he visited the Wailing Wall, at the Yad Vashem memorial complex, met with the then President of the country Shimon Peres and the head of government, Benjamin Netanyahu.