Pope Francis has "received positively" an invitation from Ireland's top churchmen to visit the country in 2018, the Irish Sunday Mirror reported on Sunday, citing a source.
Pope Francis is understood to have "received positively" the invitation sent in January on behalf of Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, according to the source.
“Pope Francis has positively received the invitation," the paper quoted the source as saying.
"His visit will no doubt bring the country to a standstill as people turn out to see him," the source added.
“It will be an historic moment in Irish history when Pope Francis visits there.”
The Catholic Church has not yet confirmed the visit by Francis which will include Dublin and also Armagh, the source said.
The last the last pontiff to visit Ireland - Pope John Paul II - had planned to visit Armagh but did not do so due to security concerns, said the source.
Nearly three million people turned out for John Paul II's visit to Ireland in August 1979, where he gave four masses: in Dublin's Phoenix Park, in the town of Drogheda, north of Dublin, and in the western cities of Galway and Knock.
Pope Francis has chosen Dublin as the location for the 2018 World Meeting of Families under the theme 'The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World'.
The Argentinian pontiff has a personal connection with Ireland, where he lived for three months during the 1980s with the Jesuit community in south Dublin.
