While the pope did not respond directly to the invitation, he expressed his appreciation for Brady's gracious words.

Earlier this year, the English hierarchy caught Irish bishops by surprise when Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, issued a formal invitation to the pope to visit Britain.

There were high hopes after Pope Benedict's election in 2005 that he would fulfil plans by the late Pope John Paul II to make a return visit to Ireland. In 2004, an invitation to Pope John Paul was extended by Irish bishops to coincide with celebrations of the 25th anniversary of his 1979 visit.

However, when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had a private audience with Pope Benedict in July 2005, it emerged that the German pontiff had no immediate plans to visit Ireland.

Protocol requires that a formal invitation should come from the Episcopal Conference of Ireland and not from the government. Now that the official invitation has been extended, it remains to be seen whether the pope will take up the offer.

Unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict has undertaken few official engagements abroad. In August 2005, he returned home to Germany, while last May he visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Speaking to more than 30 Irish bishops in the Vatican yesterday, the pope said they face an urgent task to rebuild confidence and trust in the wake of the clerical sexual abuse scandals. Above all, he underlined the need to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these "most awful crimes."

Last Thursday, the pope commented for the first time on the Ferns report. He expressed his "personal anguish and horror" at the sexual abuse that took place in the diocese over a 40-year period.