Pope Pius XI, Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, is desirous of making a visit to Palestine in the not too distant future, according to Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminister, in an address at the Holy Sepulchre.
The announcement made by Cardinal Bourne, who arrived in Jerusalem a few days ago at the head of a delegation of more than 900 British Catholic pilgrims, has created considerable surprise in Jerusalem in view of the fact that no Pope has ever visited Palestine and the fact that no pope has left the Vatican since Pius VI pass through the gates of the Vatica in 1806.
The Vatican grounds are ex-territorial, the Italian Government exercising no jurisdiction there and the Pope rules as though over his own kingdom. Should the Pope leave the Vatican he surrenders his ex-territorial rights during that time when he is away from the domain over which he rules.
Cardinal Bourne paid a visit to Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization, which is carrying or the work of medical rehabilitation in Palestine. He also visited the Jewish settlements near Jerusalem and showed great interests in the Jewish work that is going on.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
