Two days before Pope Francis arrives in the
Holy Land, Israelis and Palestinians were putting the finishing touches Thursday on a flurry of festive preparations for the visit. Municipal workers in the West Bank city of Bethlehem were busy hanging huge banners in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity, where Francis will celebrate mass on Sunday. Local Christians and pilgrims are hoping to get a glimpse of the pope, even from afar, as he passes through Bethlehem and Jerusalem to
visit Holy sites and meet other religious leaders on a
visit the Vatican has billed as a "pilgrimage of prayer." "I'm happy the pope is coming, but also worried he might **t deliver a strong e**ugh message of support for Palestinian Christians," said Louis Michel, who runs a souvenir stall outside the Church of the Nativity. Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka, an old friend of Francis, said the pontiff would try to avoid political pitfalls in the sensitive region by dividing his visits equally between Jewish sites in Israel and Muslim or Christian landmarks on Palestinian territory.
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Holy Land prepares for papal visit