Pope could be heading to Canada in 2008
Organizers of an important Catholic gathering in Quebec City are optimistic Pope Benedict XVI will attend.
Quebec City will host the church's International Eucharistic Conference in 2008, to coincide with the city's 400th anniversary.
The event will run from June 15 to 22, and will coincide with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City and the 350th anniversary of the appointment of Blessed François-de-Laval as Canada's first bishop.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, invited the Pope to the closing ceremony when he was in Rome for the papal conclave.
The Pope said he would be there, if God is willing.
"I have a close relationship to him and I think he will come," Ouellet said Thursday. "Really. I am positive about that. He will come."
The fraternal Catholic organization of the Knights of Columbus is donating $1 million to help organize the event. The last visit by a pope to North America was John Paul II's attendance at World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002.
- FROM OCT. 18, 2004: Pope may visit Quebec in 2008
Pope John Paul II announced in 2004 that Quebec City would be the site of the next celebration in 2008.
At the time, the Polish-born pontiff said he hoped to attend the gathering if his health permitted.
John Paul died on April 2 at the age of 84.