His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI will conduct a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from May 11-15, 2009, as a mission of peace and reconciliation:

"I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to ask the Lord, while visiting the places sanctified by His earthly life, for the precious gift of unity and peace, for the Middle East and for all humanity."
(Address at the end of the Sunday Angelus in Saint Peter's Square, 8 March 2009)

His Holiness defined his pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a visit to the birthplace of the Christian faith:

"I am preparing to visit Israel, a land which is holy for Christians as well as Jews, since the roots of our faith are to be found there. Indeed, the Church draws its sustenance from the root of that good olive tree, the people of Israel, onto which have been grafted the wild olive branches of the Gentiles. From the earliest days of Christianity, our identity and every aspect of our life and worship have been intimately bound up with the ancient religion of our fathers in faith."
(Address to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, 12 February 2009)

President of Israel Shimon Peres: "I am delighted that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has responded positively and accepted my invitation to visit the Holy Land. The Pope will be a most honored guest, welcomed and respected by people from all walks of life. His visit will be a moving and important event bringing the spirit of peace and hope. Welcome to Israel."

In his Sunday Mass this afternoon, Pope Benedict said, "I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to ask the Lord, visiting the places sanctified by his passage on the earth, for his precious blessing of unity and peace for the Middle East and for all of mankind. I am counting on the spiritual support of all of you, and may God accompany me, support me, and bless with his Grace all those who I meet on my way."  (8 March 2009)