Sources involved in the effort but not authorised to speak publicly said Catholic leaders had been liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the proposal for Pope Francis to add a brief Australian leg to his tour.
The campaign has the backing of the Albanese government,which has offered to help facilitate the trip.
Darwin has been singled out as the most likely location for an Australian visit because of its proximity to Pope Francis’s scheduled stops in the Pacific and South-East Asia. The possibility of the Pope delivering mass at an airport hangar in Darwin,where his plane could also be refuelled,has been discussed.
“It would be a big deal,” a senior Catholic source said of the Pope’s proposed trip,which could precede apotential visit to Australia by King Charles,his first as monarch,in late October or early November.
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It would be the first papal visit to Australia sincePope Benedict XVI visited Sydney 16 years ago for World Youth Day. Pope Benedict delivered mass to a crowd of more than 400,000 people at Randwick Racecourse in July 2008 after sailing into Sydney Harbour.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference general secretary Chris de Souza said:“We would very much welcome a visit by the Holy Father to Australia at any time,but it is not the job of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to lobby for a visit by a head of state.”