Pope’s itinerary in Palestinian visit

Welcome to our live blog of Pope Francis’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Francis kicked off his much-anticipated Middle East visit on Saturday in Jordan, where he called on the international community to heed the plight of Syrians affected by the civil war there. Now he heads to Israel and the Palestinian territories for a series of meetings and stopovers at various sites, some of which are fraught with political significance.

Ahead of the visit, the pope has received a lot of love, and no small amount of politics, from both Israel and the Palestinians.

The pontiff is heading to Bethlehem by helicopter from Amman for a series of religious events and meetings with Palestinian leaders and children. In the afternoon, he will come to Israel, launching a day of visits to religious sites and meetings with Israeli leaders.

The pope’s schedule Sunday in the Palestinian territories, as provided to journalists by Israel’s Government Press Office, is as follows. Based on the language, it seems safe to assume the schedule was originally written by Vatican officials:

8:30 – Departure for Bethlehem by helicopter from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.

9:30 – Arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bethlehem, Courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.

10:00 – Meeting with Palestinian Authority leaders. Discourse of the Holy Father.

11:00 – Holy Mass in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Homily of the Holy Father. Regina Coeli prayer. Allocution of the Holy Father.

15:00 – Private visit to the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

15:45 – Farewell ceremony from the Palestinian Authority at the Bethlehem helipad.

16:00 – Departure by helicopter from the Bethlehem helipad for Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel.