Vatican expects 40,000 to attend pope’s mass in IsraelThe Vatican is expecting about 40,000 people to attend a mass Pope Benedict XVI will lead on his scheduled visit to Israel in May, the Vatican announced in a briefing this week. The pope will arrive in Israel from Jordan on May 11, and will stay in the country for four days. During his visit the pope will hold three masses in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. He will also visit the mosques on the Temple Mount and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. The trip is being described as a pilgrimage by Catholic leaders, rather than a state visit.