VATICAN CITY, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will visit Austria next year, the Vatican said on Thursday.
The Vatican said Austrian President Heinz Fischer renewed a standing invitation for the Pope to visit a shrine to the Virgin Mary at Mariazell next year and added that he "willingly accepted".
The trip to Austria is expected to be linked to a visit to the Czech Republic. ((Reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Steve Pagani; Reuters Messaging philip.pullella.reuters.com@reuters.net; +39 06 8522 4358; philip.pullella@reuters.com))
Keywords: POPE AUSTRIA