Cardinal-designate Dolan 's pilgrimage to Holy Land

Cardinal-designate Archbishop Timothy Dolan will go to Israel on a spiritual journey before heading to Rome for his investiture. Archbishop Dolan heads to the Holy Land on January 25 with an entourage of 50 priests from the New York area. The journey was planned long before Pope Benedict beckoned him to serve in the College of Cardinals. He will remain in Israel for nine days.

Archbishop Dolan and fellow priests will visit Jerusalem’s Western Wall and the Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial museum, besides the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, two of Christianity’s holiest sites. They may also visit sites that are also revered by Moslems. Spokesman Joseph Zwilling of the Archdiocese of New York said that the visit is not political: Archbishop Dolan will not meet with Israeli or Palestinian leaders while in the Middle East. Zwilling said of the trip, "Visiting these sites will give them an opportunity to deepen their faith."
 
Dolan will return to New York before heading to Rome month. There, he will be made Cardinal on February 18.