While a papal visit to Jordan has frequently been mentioned as a possibility, sources in the Vatican indicate that firm plans for that visit have now emerged. Jordan's King Hussein, who died last year, had issued an invitation for the Pope to visit his country. That invitation was renewed by Hussein's son, King Abdallah, on a September visit to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandalfo. The schedule for the Pope's trip to the Holy Land already includes plans for stops at Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. He might also make a helicopter trip to Mount Mukawer, where St. John the Baptist was imprisoned and finally beheaded.
Diplomatic sources indicate that a formal visit to the Jordanian royal palace is also contemplated.
Four others were injured. The constant monsoons in that region weakened the roof and walls and they didn't have a chance once the foundation gave way. A special funeral Mass was held for the victims yesterday morning in the Southern India region of Cheyyur in the Diocese of Madras-Mylapore. The Archbishop of the See celebrated the Mass. Six nuns of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny were killed in their sleep early Monday morning when the convent they were sleeping in collapsed in southern Tamil Nadu state.