It is not my intention in these days to be a one-person reporter for Pope Francis' jam-packed schedule for his ongoing visit to Cyprus and then his weekend departure for and visit of Greece. EWTN news has interesting reports and photos, as does the Vatican news portal. For photos and videos of the papal, trip, here are links to events from today: Pope at Holy Synod: Differences are not irreconcilable - Vatican News and Pope at Mass in Cyprus: Only together can we be healed from blinding darkness - Vatican News

What I will bring you today in my feature report of the papal trip are bits and pieces of history, and some astonishing facts about the places that the Holy Father has visited so far. It's a kind of "everything you wanted to know about Cyprus but were afraid to ask"!

When the Vatican prepares a papal trip, that preparation includes an amazing booklet for the media that is an encyclopedia of information – a thousand facts, small and large, about people, places, buildings, etc, the time difference between Rome and the locale visited, the time differences that might occur within a given country, info on all the people involved in a visit – civil and religious leaders, diplomats, etc.

I have used a lot of that detailed information in my report below, as well as some information and photos from when I was in Cyprus for Pope Benedict's trip in June 2010.

Probably the only thing the booklet leaves out is a list of good restaurants! But then, finding those restaurants is the fun part for the media (if and when they even have time for a decent meal)!

VATICAN INSIDER:   PART II, A GUIDED VISIT OF ST. PETER'S

This week, in what is normally the interview segment. I present part II of my special on St. Peter's Basilica. You will remember that November 18th we celebrated the liturgical feast of the dedication of the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul's Outside the Walls. Two weeks ago I guided you through the basilica of St. Paul's and last week, in Part I, I explored the equally historical and stunning St. Peter's Basilica. Today we continue that visit.

I usually post photos at this point when I announce a guest or a Special in the interview segment but I am spending time today on photos from Cyprus in the following article. I'll pay you back in future days with some pretty special pictures taken on a day when I spent over an hour exploring the basilica in relative calm with very few, in fact hardly any, visitors.

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CYPRUS: A LAND OF CONTRASTS AND SAINTS, DIVISIONS AND DISCIPLES

Cyprus, of course, is the island intimately associated with Sts. Paul and Barnabas and, as you will discover, St. Lazarus! It is featured a number of times in the Bible and is, though not everyone knows it, part of what we call the Holy Land.

Following are some of the more interesting facts about people and places in Cyprus that you may not have known about. As I wrote above, these are taken from the Vatican's booklet for the media on the papal trip and from information I learned in 2010 when I covered Benedict XVI's trip to Cyprus.

The small island republic of Cyprus with 850,000 inhabitants has been independent since 1960 but has been divided since 1974 when Muslim majority Turkey invaded and occupied the northern 37 percent of this Mediterranean island. The rest of Cyprus – 81 percent - is Christian: about 78 percent are Orthodox and only 3 percent are Catholic. Either question – the religious one or the political one – at both national and international levels - is complex. The Turkish occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus is known as the Turkish northern Republic of Cyprus but only and solely to Turkey – not the UN or any other country. Pope Benedict visited in 2010. This is still the scenario – in a very small nutshell – for the papal trip. Cyprus is a member of the European Union.

There has been is a UN peacekeeping force since 1964 on Cyprus in what is known as the UN buffer zone between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parts of the island. After the 1974 events, the U.N. extended and expanded the mission to prevent a possible war, in addition to just trying to keep the military status quo. For decades the U.N. and others have tried to find a diplomatic solution for the divided island.

The capital Nicosia is right in the center of the island of Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean. In 1974, after the invasion of the Turks, it found itself divided into two parts, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot, by a Green Line, a demarcation boundary consisting of barbed wire and some sections of walls, within which there is an area patrolled by the U.N. Blue Helmet peacekeeping force. Capital since 965, Nicosia is the only divided capital city in all of Europe.

During the Third Crusade in 1187, Nicosia ​​was defeated by Richard the Lionhearted and sold to the Knights Templar who controlled it until the revolt of the Nicosians in 1192. Later, the capital was ruled by the Lusignan kings until 1489, by the Venetians (1489-1571), by the Ottoman Empire (1571-1878) and by the British from 1878 until 1960, the year in which Cyprus achieved independence. In 1974, a Greek military junta attempted a coup d'état, trying to overthrow the government of Cyprus and annex the island to Greece. Turkey responded by invading the country and taking control of the northern part of the island and the northern part of Nicosia. In 1983, the Turks of the north proclaim independence: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is born, recognized by the Ankara government but not by the international community.

The papal plane landed at Larnaca airport yesterday, December 2, at 3 pm, local time. Interestingly enough, the first bishop of Larnaca was Jesus' friend St. Lazarus, who settled in the city after the miracle of his resurrection. His tomb is located in the church named for him and built in the eighth century by Emperor Leo VI the Wise.

The Pope is staying at the apostolic nunciature, as is traditional on papal trips. The nunciature was established on February 13, 1973 with Pope St. Paul's brief "Id semper fuit." It is located in the Holy Cross Franciscan Convent complex owned by the Custody of the Holy Land, whose friars have been working since the 13th century century on the island, and includes the only Latin Catholic church in Cyprus, the parish church of Holy Cross. The building is located in the so-called "no man's land, "a United Nations controlled area, located along the "green line", between the lines of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot military personnel.

This morning, Friday, December 3, the Holy Father went to the Orthodox archbishopric to pay a courtesy visit to Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Cyprus. In an interesting bit of history, the archbishop's palace was built between 1956 and 1960 by archbishop Makarios III who, honored with a marble statue in the palace courtyard. became the first president of Cyprus!

Pope Francis this afternoon went to Holy Cross church for a meeting with migrants.

I was outside this church in 2010 for Pope Benedict's visit and it has an interesting story. It is just east of the Paphos Gate, inside the ancient city walls of Nicosia, and its rear wall borders the United Nations buffer zone that separates the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parts of Cyrpus. Built on a previous church of 1642, the first stone of the current building was placed on April 8, 1900 thanks to the Spanish Royal Family and the Franciscan Friars. Inside,on the ceiling, is the Spanish royal coat of arms and, under the rose window. the coat of arms of the Custody of the Holy Land.

I learned today from colleagues in Cyprus with the papal trip that the scenario for Franis' visit to Holy Cross was basically the same today as it was 11 years ago for Pope Benedict: U.N. peacekeeping forces keeping a strict vigil over the church and environs given that it is located in the so-called "no man's land," the U.N.-controlled buffer zone between the northern Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus (and of the city of Nicosia) and the Greek Cypriot part of the island.

The media not on the papal plane had to remain outside the gated and protected and surveiled square in front of Holy Cross church. As ecclesial guests arrived, they were checked into the compound by guards. I am guessing it was the same today. Here are 20 of the photos I took then, just to give you an idea:

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As Pope Francis moves from place to place in Cyprus that I have seen, I am re-living my unforgettable 2010 adventure. I've re-read all of the blogs I posted and have seen every one of my hundreds of photo, including many wonderful close-ups of Pope Benedict.