Vatican City, Nov 3, 2010 / 09:42 am
As the Spanish cities Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona make final preparations for the Holy Father's arrival this weekend, the Pope has asked everyone to accompany him on the pastoral trip with "fervent prayer."
In his Spanish-language greeting during Wednesday's general audience, the Holy Father made the prayer appeal for his visit to Spain from Nov. 6-7. "I invite you to accompany me with your fervent prayer next weekend," he said, noting the two stops on the trip.
In Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of the "Way of St. James" pilgrimage route, he will be "joining pilgrims that arrive at the feet of the Apostle in this Holy Year," he said. Organizers are bracing for an estimated 200,000 people to swell the city for the Nov. 6 occasion.
The Holy Year is a jubilee celebration observed for an entire year every time the feast of St. James, July 25, falls on a Sunday.