Pope Francis, who turns 88 in December, is due to visit Luxembourg in September.

The Pope will spend eight hours in the Grand Duchy on a state visit, the schedule for which was released on Friday.

The head of the Catholic Church will arrive in Luxembourg at 10am on 26 September, where he will be greeted at Findel by the Grand Duke and Duchess, as well as Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

At around midday the Pope will appear at the Cercle Cité in the capital for a meeting with a number of invitees from public and private sectors alike.

Afterwards, the Pope will drive through the city, greeting the public from around 1pm from his vehicle. A break will follow, before the Pope will meet members of the Catholic Church at the Luxembourg City cathedral from 4.30pm onwards. This will be accompanied by a ceremony in which young people will present text messages and dance performances to the Pope as they depict life in the Luxembourgish diocese.

The diocese will publish further information on how to apply for the papal celebration in around a month's time, as places will be limited. There will not be a special mass or religious ceremony on the schedule for the Pope's visit.

At 6pm, the Pope will depart Luxembourg for Belgium to continue his official tour, where he is due to hold a large mass with up to 10,000 attendees in Brussels' Stade Roi Baudouin on Sunday, 19 September.