Paris - Pope Benedict XVI has set a visit to France for September 12 to 15 that will include a meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy and a trip to Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the shrine, the daily Le Figaro reported Friday. After meeting Sarkozy on the evening of September 12, the Pope will celebrate a mass in the French capital the following day before travelling on to Lourdes, the daily said, citing a "secret diplomatic telegram" it had seen.
At Lourdes, the Pope is scheduled to hold an open-air celebration as well as a meeting with some of the many ailing pilgrims who will visit the site to be cured.
Lourdes became one of the world's most popular pilgrimage destinations after a 14-year-old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, said she had seen the Virgin Mary 18 times at a grotto just outside the town.
Some 8 million visitors are expected to travel to Lourdes this year to take part in the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the visions, 3 million more than usual.
