Upon the invitation of His Majesty King Abdullah II, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will embark on a four-day visit to the Kingdom on 8 May, his first papal visit to the region since his election as head of the Catholic Church.

King Abdullah will discuss with Pope Benedict bilateral relations between the Kingdom and the Vatican as well as issues concerning the promotion of interfaith dialogue and Islamic-Christian coexistance.

The papal visit will be the third to Jordan. Pope Paul VI was the first pope to visit Jordan in 1964, and Pope John Paul II toured Jordan in 2000, meeting King Abdullah, performing mass and visiting several historical and religious sites.