THE Pope is expected to decline an invitation to visit the North-East as part of a planned UK tour.

University and religious leaders invited Pope Benedict XVI to deliver an academic address in Durham Cathedral during a scheduled visit to Britain in September.

Accepting would have made him the first world leader of the Roman Catholic church ever to visit the North-East.

No official itinerary has yet been announced.

A spokeswoman for the Catholic Communications Network said further details would be confirmed later this month. However, it is believed the Pope, who is 82, will visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Birmingham only.

The Durham invitation stemmed from a visit by Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Holy See, His Excellency Francis Campbell, to Durham University last March.

The partnership behind the offer included both North- East Anglican and Roman Catholic leaders, as well as political and civic figures.

Father Christopher Jackson, press officer for the Roman Catholic diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, said: “There is still no official confirmation.

“If the Pope is not coming, of course it would be a great disappointment to the people of the North-East.

“However, it is perfectly understandable with a country the size of ours. There are four million Catholics in England and Wales and then there’s Scotland to be considered.

“Somebody’s going to be disappointed. He can’t do everything.

“I’m sure people from the North-East would travel elsewhere to see him and welcome him.”

The short tour will be the first Papal visit to the UK since 1982.

During that trip, Pope John Paul II visited Knavesmire racecourse, in York. However, there has not been a papal visit to the North-East, despite the region being considered a cradle for Christianity.

The National Secular Society says it will present a petition, already signed by 28,000 people, to Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to exempt taxpayers from funding the visit, which it says will cost £20m.

The Pope’s apparent decision comes only a week after Durham was left off a fourstrong shortlist to be named the first UK City of Culture in 2013.