U.S. President George W. Bush is to visit the Church of the Beatitudes on the shore of the Sea of Galilee on Friday.

“This pilgrimage marks a moment of hope and closeness to the people of the Holy Land,” Father Rino Rossi, rector of the Domus Galilaeae on the Mount of the Beatitudes, said.

On the southern shore of the lake, between Capernaum and the archaeological site of Ginosar, lies the Mount of Beatitudes, believed to be where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

More than 8,000 young Catholics from the United States prayed together Tuesday on the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus is believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount.