The Vatican says Pope Benedict’s XVI’s
audio and video hookup Saturday with the International Space Station
will be streamed live on the Internet site of Vatican Radio and CTV, the
broadcasting arms of the Holy See.
While the pontiff is expected to greet all the crew, the Vatican
says he will chat in particular with the two Italian astronauts aboard,
Paolo Nespoli and Roberto Vittori.
Vittori is carrying a silver medal donated by the pope.
The others on the space station are Russian and American.
The
hookup was originally set for May 4 after the shuttle Endeavour was due
to dock with the station.
But an electrical problem set back
Endeavour’s launch until May 16.