Pope Benedict XVI visits Britain

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Britain on Thursday to start a four-day official visit.

Edinburgh, capital of Scotland was the first stop of his tour to Britain. The Pope will visit Glasgow, London and Birmingham later.

The Britain tour is the first by a Pontiff since a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1982. It is also the first to be designated a state visit because the Pope has been invited by the Queen rather than the church.

Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Pope Benedict to Edinburgh at Holyrood House and recalled her four past visits to the Vatican.

Earlier this week British Prime Minister David Cameron offered Pope a "very warm welcome" to Britain and called his visit "incredibly important and historic."

Source: Xinhua