Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will have an audience with the Pope next week when he travels to Europe to take part in crucial talks on climate change.
Mr Rudd will leave on Monday for the six-day trip taking in meetings with leaders in Malaysia, Berlin, Zurich and Italy with a focus on the global recession and climate change.
After a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, he will stop briefly in Zurich to lobby world soccer body FIFA chief Sepp Blatter on Australia's bid to host the world cup in 2018 or 2020.
Later in the week, Mr Rudd will spend two days in Italy where he will meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome.
Mr Rudd will also visit the Vatican for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI where they are expected to discuss the potential canonisation of Josephite order founder, the Blessed Mary MacKillop.
He will travel to the earthquake-hit town of L'Aquila for a meeting of the 17-nation Major Economies Forum where leaders will discuss progress on a world agreement to reduce climate emissions ahead of the Copenhagen UN summit in December.
Mr Rudd will return to Australia next weekend.
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