Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Edinburgh at the beginning of a four-day UK tour.
He is expected to arrive from Rome at Edinburgh Airport at 10.30 am to be met by The Duke of Edinburgh. Together they will drive to the Palace of Holyrood House where the Pope will see The Queen. A State Reception is planned for 11.45 am. At about 12.30 pm he will travel via Abbeyhill and Regent Road along Princes Street in the Popemobile and up Lothian Road to the home of the Cardinal Archbishop in Morningside for lunch. At 3.45 pm he leaves to travel to Glasgow and then on to London that night.
This is a State Visit although the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Scotland and of England and Wales are contributing to the organisation and costs of the visit.
The UK tour is 16-19 September. Millions are expected to tune into the live television coverage of the Pope's visit, when he lands in Edinburgh on Thursday 16th (BBC1 from 9.30am to 1pm).
St Ninian's Day Parade down Princes Street
The Catholic Church has organised a Parade, beginning at Regent Road and passing along Princes Street, at the same time as the reception in the Palace. The parade's theme is the patron saint of children, St Ninian, whose day is celebrated on 16 September.
The St Ninian’s Parade will include pipers, actors playing historic characters, and children from St Ninian’s schools across Scotland (these are schools that have a mixed intake of children from Catholic, Episcopalian and non-denominational backgrounds.)
The Pipers will play Amazing Grace as the Popemobile passes.
The above footage is of the last papal visit to Edinburgh in 1982 when, as part of a six-day UK tour, Pope John Paul II addressed a euphoric crowd at Murrayfield. The visit coincided with the reestablishment of full diplomatic relations between the UK and the Holy See. However, it was not an official Papal Visit.