Pope Benedict's plane will stop in Darwin for refuelling on the way to Sydney for World Youth Day and locals are hoping that the pontiff will step out to greet Territorians. The Northern Territory News quotes World Youth Day sources as saying the pope plans to leave his plane briefly to meet people at Darwin's RAAF military base during a 75-minute refuelling stopover on July 13.
The Pope will be in Darwin from 9.15-10.30am on his way from Rome to Sydney.
Territorians will be the first Australians to see the Pontiff.
He will return to Darwin for a 75-minute refuelling stopover on his way home on July 21 but is not expected to leave his plane on the return journey.
World Youth Day spokeswoman Anita Sulentic said: ''His stopover in Darwin is for a refuelling stop - that's all that we know to date.''
The Catholic Church Diocesan office in Darwin did not know about Pope Benedict XVI's possible meet-the-people stopover.
Bishop Eugene Hurley said it would be a ''great thrill'' for Northern Territory Catholics if the Pope got out of his plane during the refuelling stop.
''That would be wonderful ,'' he said. ''It would be nice to think that we would be the first to say hello and the last to say goodbye to him."
But Bishop Hurley said he doubted the Pope would get off his plane because he was the Vatican City head of state and there were protocols about who he would meet upon first arriving.
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