The German pontiff will make the first Papal visit to this country in nearly three decades. It is understood that the historic event is being timed to coincide with the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who is on the path to becoming the first British saint for 40 years.
Details of the visit, which will attract crowds of hundreds of thousands of people, are still under discussion, but cities being considered include London, Birmingham, Oxford, Edinburgh, Armagh and Dublin.
A senior cardinal is due to make a private trip to Britain in the summer to make preparations for the Pope's visit, which could be announced by the end of this year.
The Catholic Church in England and Wales will hope that such an event will capture the imagination of the country's four million Catholics, of whom only a quarter now regularly attend Mass.At the same time, the Government has embarked on a major diplomatic mission in an attempt to change the long-standing law banning Catholics from succeeding to the throne.
Relations between the Catholic Church and the Government have been strained following clashes over the introduction of laws enforcing homosexual equality and the Embryo Bill, which paved the way for the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.
However, secret talks began between the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the Vatican shortly after Pope Benedict's election in 2005, long before Gordon Brown's private audience last month.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, wrote to the Pope in 2006, suggesting that he should come to Britain in 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of the visit by the late Pope John Paul II.He proposed that a tour should include a lecture at Oxford University as well as an address to the Houses of Parliament.
The Cardinal was in Rome last week, where he met with Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, and it is likely they discussed plans for a Papal visit.It has yet to be decided whether the Pope would travel to Britain solely for a service of beatification for Cardinal Newman or whether it would be turned into a tour of the British Isles.
A senior source in Rome revealed that bishops in England are divided over whether the service would be conducted in Birmingham, where his remains are venerated, or in London at Westminster Cathedral or Wembley stadium.The Pope has privately expressed an interest in travelling to Oxford, having previously only visited Cambridge, and would also be likely to visit Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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