At yesterday's Angelus, Benedict XVI asked the faithful worldwide to accompany him with prayer during his visit to Britain (video).
Some 70 per cent of British Catholics believe that the Pope's visit will help the Church, a BBC News poll has found.
The long-term decline in weekly Mass attendance in the Church in England and Wales ended in 2005 and the figures have been broadly stable since, a new study has found.
The papal visit will be "serene, positive and constructive", Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi has said in his weekly reflection.
