Vatican City  - Pope Benedict XVI will visit Australia from July 12 to 21 the Vatican said Wednesday.

The dates for the pastoral visit for the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Days in Sydney, were included in a calendar of events issued by the Vatican.

No further details were provided on the 81-year-old German pontiff's trip, the third scheduled for abroad this year.

Earlier this week the French Bishops' Conference announced that Benedict will travel to France from September 12-15 for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that Catholics believe took place in Lourdes.

On April 20 Benedict completed a five day visit to the United States where he visited Washington and New York. (dpa)