Pope Benedict to visit Eastern U.S. cities in April '08?

A notable upswing in cardinal-and-archbishop sightings during the last couple weeks here in DC set off rumors that something big was brewing. New to the scene myself, I shrugged my shoulders and figured that this state of affairs was average for the Nation's capital.

Disconnected as it may have been, Rocco reports that plans for a Papal visit to the Eastern seaboard were disseminated and discussed by the heirarchy during that time frame. (Quelle surprise, yes?) The highlights of Rocco's report:

The tentative dates of the visit would be April 15th-20th (Tuesday-to-Sunday).

Appearances in New York: a speech before the United Nations, Mass at Central Park, address and prayers at St. Patrick's Cathedral, a moment of reflection at Ground Zero.

Appearances in Boston: Sunday Mass on Boston Common and a meeting with the bishops of New England.

Appearances in Washington DC: Pope Benedict is reportedly eager to see the campus of CUA, he would also meet with President Bush, and probably celebrate Mass at the National Mall.

A visit to Baltimore might be added.

And, parting with tradition, the Pontiff will be visiting in an election year, right near the time when the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates should have just emerged. (Cue the fireworks.)

... well now, it seems I have to go block out a certain week in April on my calendar...

More as I find it.

Update: On Friday, CNS speculated: "Vatican officials say the pope also expects to visit the United Nations and New York in 2008, and April now looks like a likely time frame. He could easily add one or two other eastern U.S. cities, such as Philadelphia or Boston, to that itinerary."

Update 2: In fairness to my readers, I should note that this report is unsubstantiated at this point and has not been confirmed by any official source. Expect, at the very least, many of the venues and planned activities mentioned in this post to change. From what I'm hearing, the projected dates and major cities look fairly certain, but anything beyond that hasn't passed into anything resembling a consensus.

Update 3: CNA reports on the rumors here (and it appears to simply relate Rocco's details).

Obviously, in a situation like this the various involved dioceses and planning committees don't want to jump the gun and release details that have not yet been confirmed. Cities and other destinations at one time on the list would feel slighted if taken off during a later stage of planning, etc. Plus, there's a massive amount of logistics collaboration that has to go on with state and local officials (security, etc). Having the details of a visit available to the public won't help those proceedings move smoothly along in the least. So, everyone, stay patient and tuned.

There's plenty of time to book tickets.