State visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom

The state visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom was held from 16 to 19 September 2010 and was the first visit by a Pope to Britain after Pope John Paul II made a pastoral, rather than state, visit in 1982. The visit included the beatification of Cardinal Newman as a "pastoral highlight".^[1]

Pope Benedict's visit included meetings with Elizabeth II (Queen of the United Kingdom and Supreme Governor of the Church of England), First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron, and leaders of the other main political parties.

The Pope's itinerary included open air Masses in Glasgow and Birmingham, a youth vigil in Hyde Park in London, and Mass at Westminster Cathedral in London, attended by over 200,000 people.