The Government has been called upon to arrange for Pope Francis to address the joint Houses of the Oireachtas during his visit to Ireland in 2018. Fianna Fáil Senator Aidan Davitt said during a radio interview that the Pope’s visit to attend the World Meeting of Families would present “an ideal opportunity” for the Pontiff to meet with legislators and address them as he had done in the United States in 2015 during the last Families gathering. Senator Davitt that Pope Francis “has a natural connection to Dublin as he lived here for over three months. Pope Francis spent a number of weeks studying English at the Jesuit Milltown Institute in Ranelagh, south Dublin over 30 years ago.” The World Meeting of Families will take place across three days in Dublin from 22 to 26 August 2018.