It has taken place every three years since Pope John Paul II established it in 1994 to strengthen the bonds between families and bear witness to the “crucial importance” of marriage and the family.

There will be many speakers and seminars at events across the capital and the highlight will be the Pope taking part in a session.

As part of it, the Festival of Families is choreographed as a celebration of family life in music song, dance, and spoken word.

Pope Francis will join an audience of 82,500 in the Croke Park sports stadium where he will hear testimonies from families and see performers like Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

What else is the Pope going to be doing on Saturday?

He will visit Irish President Michael D Higgins at his home in the Phoenix Park then see Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Dublin Castle for a meeting lasting around 15 minutes.

The subject of his conversation with Mr Varadkar has been the subject of speculation, including whether the Irish premier will raise the clerical sex abuse scandal which has rocked the Catholic church.

The Pope is also expected to visit St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral.

He will undertake a private trip to a day centre for homeless families.

Why is he going to Knock shrine on Sunday?

Francis is following in the footsteps of his predecessor John Paul II, who visited the shrine in 1979, a century after an apparition was said to have…

More than 90 per cent of people were Catholic, now it is down to less than 80%.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said a dramatic fall in the birth rate has been accompanied by an increase in the proportion of children born outside wedlock.

The marriage rate has dropped and more are opting for civil rather than church ceremonies.

More have taken advantage of education opportunities.

Living standards for some have soared, Dublin is among the most expensive cities in Europe due to price inflation in housing, but the problem of homelessness has worsened in recent years.

In 1979, 2.7 million people turned out to greet John Paul II and heard him warn of the danger of growing materialism and secularism in a changing world.

Those phenomena have continued apace, in common with much of Western Europe.

Maynooth College, where aspiring clerics study, was once one of the world’s busiest and helped send Irish missionaries around the world to spread the faith.

The number studying for the priesthood has reduced substantially over recent decades, with the average age of a priest around 70.

Social values have also changed, demonstrated by a series of popular votes for liberalisation, which passed despite religious opposition.

In 1995 Ireland decided by referendum to allow divorce.

Subsequent history has disproved contemporaneous claims that it would lead to husbands deserting their…

The 50-year-old overcame Peter Dutton, who was the key challenger to incumbent PM Malcolm Turnbull, to win a leadership ballot by 45 votes to 40.

He is expected to be sworn in by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove after Mr Turnbull officially resigns.

Born in Sydney in 1968, Mr Morrison has been Australia’s treasurer – the equivalent of the UK’s Chancellor – since September 2015.

He was first elected as an MP in 2007 when he won the seat of Cook, located in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

Known to be a regular churchgoer, after last year’s referendum on same-sex marriage, he would back a new “religious protections” bill to support churches who didn’t want to offer gay weddings.

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The study titled ‘Secondary school choice and selection’ suggests black families are 68 per cent more likely to choose a church school than white families.

Despite that, it states: “If a white child and a black child apply for a single remaining seat at a Church school in London, the black child is less than half as likely to be admitted.”

The findings contrast with different reports which suggest Catholic schools are more diverse than the national average with a fifth of UK black children attending them.

The Accord Coalition campaigns against the admissions policies of faith schools claiming it leads to discrimination and division.

Responding to the findings of the government report, chair Rev Stephen Terry said: “The Department for Education should be credited for shinning a light on how religiously selective admission policies are a significant source of socioeconomic disadvantage and on the especially under-reported problem of indirect racial discrimination.

“Schools selecting by faith is not only leading to religious division, but driving it on the grounds of economic background and race too.”

Premier has contacted the Church of England and is waiting for a response.

The Catholic Education Service declined to comment.

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The service will be held at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on 31 August, and also expected to perform are Jennifer Hudson – who will play Aretha in an upcoming biopic, Fantasia, Chaka Khan, and Aretha Franklin’s son Edward.

Proceedings will reflect Franklin’s strong gospel roots, and the Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir will also be on the programme.

The Queen of Soul’s father was a minister and her Amazing Grace album is one of the most popular gospel LPs in history.

She died of pancreatic cancer last Thursday aged 76.

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