BENEDICTUS XVI: LANDMARK VISIT TO CYPRUS

Pope Benedict is beginning an official visit to Cyprus - the first time a pontiff has gone to the divided island.

The three-day visit has been overshadowed by the murder in Turkey of a prominent Catholic bishop who was planning to meet the Pope in Cyprus.

A huge image of the Pope adorns the entrance of the Latin Church of the Holy Cross in Nicosia

The Vatican has expressed shock and concern at the stabbing to death of Bishop Luigi Padovese at his home.

A key issue for the Pope on this visit is the survival of minority Christian communities in the Middle East.

The bishop's violent death in Turkey on Thursday is evidence of the continuing pressure under which these communities live. Police say the killer was his driver, and that the murder was not politically motivated.

Bishop Padovese had been due to leave to meet the Pope on Friday In the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, the Pope will stay at the apostolic nunciature, which lies in no-man's-land - the buffer zone separating the Greek Cypriot side from the territory occupied by Turkey since 1974.

Cyprus's Ambassador to the Vatican, George Poulides, will be among those greeting the Pope on his arrival in Paphos, a popular tourist destination for British families.

"This is an historic visit because it's the first visit by a Pope ever to Cyprus and it's also the first visit by Pope Benedict XVI to an Orthodox country," he said.

Paphos was visited by the apostle Saint Paul and, according to the Bible account, he converted the Roman governor to Christianity during his journey across the Mediterranean from Jerusalem to Rome.

It was also for centuries the site of the cult of the Greek goddess Aphrodite - said to have risen from the sea near here.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded in response to a military coup backed by the junta ruling Greece at the time. The breakaway north is not recognised internationally