Blair to meet Pope before he steps down
Tony Blair will be meeting Pope Benedict for the second time
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Thursday, 24, May 2007 09:48
Tony Blair will meet the Pope at the Vatican next month as part of a visit to Italy before he leaves office on June 27th.
The prime minister's meeting at the Vatican will be the second time he has talked with Pope Benedict XVI since the German succeeded John Paul II in 2005.
A spokeswoman for the prime minister said: "The prime minister hopes to go to Rome to visit both prime minister Romano Prodi and the Pope before he stands down.
"He wants to discuss the EU summit with Mr Prodi and discus interfaith issues, particularly in light of the forthcoming conference on Islam here."
Neither the Vatican nor Downing Street has confirmed when the visit will be, although it is expected to occur during the early part of June.
Mr Blair, whose wife Cherie is Catholic, has been widely rumoured to be prepared to convert to Catholicism when he leaves office.
It is understood that the he took communion from John Paul II while visiting the Vatican in 2003, but the Catholic institution has never confirmed this.
The prime minister has been travelling widely since confirming in a speech at his constituency in Sedgefield that he would be standing down at the end of next month.
He has since visited US president George Bush in Washington and the Iraqi president and prime minister.