Up in the Air

...and he's off -- the Volo Papale left Ciampino Airport at 8.30 Rome time, to arrive at Edinburgh within the hour.

No word yet from the traditional in-flight press conference -- the juicier bits of which have, over the course of prior trips, made their way to the ground before the plane.

On one final programming note, today in Scotland sees the reason for this trip's timing -- it is St Ninian's Day, the feast of the time-honored "apostle to the Scots"; the Mass of St Ninian will be used by B16 later today at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park, and in tribute to the parades of earlier times on this day, a cadre of some 1,000 bagpipers will precede the Popemobile as the pontiff travels from his state reception at Holyrood to lunch at the residence of Edinburgh's Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

All that said, it might just be Day One, but another good morning on roughly three hours' sleep. Either way, church, sit back, relax... and, well, away we go.

PHOTO: Reuters

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