CHICAGO (April 21, 2004) - Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, will travel to Italy and to France in the coming months for two distinct pilgrimages:

• Ad limina visit: May 22 - 30, 2004

Cardinal George and his auxiliary bishops -- as well as the ordinaries of all Catholic dioceses in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin -- will travel to Rome in May for their ad limina visit, which takes its name from the ancient practice of pilgrimages ad limina apostolorum -"to the thresholds (or tombs)" of Sts. Peter and Paul, in Rome. The term refers to the visits that ordinaries of dioceses are obliged to make to the Holy See every five years as a sign of communion with the Holy See and in order to report on the condition of the diocese. Ordinarily, bishops make their ad limina visits in groups, with the bishops of a country or ecclesiastical province traveling to Rome and meeting with the Pope together.

During the ad limina visit, the bishop is required to personally visit the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul, and to v isit with the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. During the meeting with the Holy Father, the bishop r eports on the state of his diocese. The Pope then himself addresses the bishop, offering his perspective on the challenges facing the Church in the particular circumstances of the bishop's ministry.

•  60 th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings/Battle of Normandy: June 3 -7, 2004

Cardinal George has been invited by the Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux in Normandy, France, to be the guest of the Catholic community in Normandy at the 60 th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy in early June.

Though details are yet to be finalized, the Cardinal plans to honor those who fought on the D-Day beaches and in the Second World War by celebrating a special Mass for the Dead at the American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-mer overlooking Omaha Beach. He also expects to venerate the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Lisieux.