The Pope's-a-Coming

Fresh from a sucessful trip to the UK, the Vatican have announced that the Pope will be gracing (forgive the pun) the shores of Spain in November. This early winter trip (6th and 7th November) will serve to both allow the pope to visit spain in the winter months but also a return to a country which he was not seen since shortly after his election to this rank in 2005.

The focus of his visit furthermore will be slightly different, with last time being based around the Fifth World Meeting of Families based in Valencia. This visit had in fact been arranged following the request of King Juan Carlos and the country's top Catholic bishops.

This time however, Pope Benedict XVI is coming primarily to consecrate the Sagrada Familia, as well as the celebration of the Jacobeo Holy Year in Santiago de Compostela on the saturday of his time there. To add more to an already special event, it will be the 900th anniversary of the construction of the city's cathedral, and this famous destination as the end of the infamous "camino".The unfinished construction of the Sagrada Familia is still one of Barcelona's most famous sights, and is hoped that after nearly 150 years of construction it will be finished in 2025. At least the decision for it to be consecrated is a positive sign as regards a potential finish date in view!

However on the plus side for Spain, this won't be the Pope's last visit by any stretch of the imagination, as he has already planned a trip in 2011 for World Youth Day in the capital city of Madrid.