Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday May 16th. ;
The news of the visit comes on the same day the Vatican officially recognized Palestine as a state. ;
It's part of a bilateral treaty that has yet to be signed, but it does refer to Palestine as a state instead of the Palestine Liberation Organization. ;
Even though the Holy See has referred to Palestine as a state over the past year, this marks the first official diplomatic communication to clearly refers to it as such. ;
On Sunday, the day after Abbas meets with the Pope, two new saints from the Holy Land will be canonized by the Pope. Abbas plans to attend the ceremony in St. Peter's Square. ;
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