POPE Francis may visit Ireland in 2018.
Speculation has mounted after the pontiff announced at a mass in Philadelphia that the next Catholic World Meeting of Families will take place in Dublin.
The Catholic World Meeting of Families — the world's largest gathering of Catholic families — is staged every three years in a different location around the world.
The event, set up in 1994 by Pope John Paul II and attended by him, was also presided over by Pope Benedict XVI during his reign.
It’s assumed Pope Francis will continue the tradition of attending the gathering, which is likely to take place both in the RDS and Croke Park.
The announcement of Dublin as the venue was made during the concluding mass of Pope Francis's 10-day pastoral visit to Cuba and the United States.
If Pope Francis does visit, it will only be the second papal visit ever to Ireland. Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979 was the first and only one to date.
But Pope Francis has visited Ireland before — he spent three months in Dublin in 1980 when, aged 43, he came to study the Jesuit-run Milltown Institute in Ranelagh.
Archbishop of Armagh Éamon Martin, speaking earlier today on Newstalk radio, told Pat Kenny that he could confirm that the Catholic World Meeting of Families would definitely be taking place in Dublin.
According to the archbishop, however, there was no confirmation yet that the Pope will make the journey to Dublin.
Archbishop Martin added: “If he does come, I think it would be wonderful if he also makes a journey to Northern Ireland...if only to underline the huge advances we’ve made towards peace. People across the communities have told me the pope would be made very welcome here."
Archbishop Martin added that Pope Francis’s health as well as his schedule would be a factor in whether the papal visit to Ireland takes place.
The pope will be 81 in 2018.
