The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, welcomed the news that Pope John Paul II has agreed in principle to accept an invitation to revisit Ireland.
He recalled the success of the Pope's fist visit in 1979, and pledged "every cooperation from the civic authorities to making the visit a success".
The Irish Bishop's Conference finally secured an acceptance after inviting the pope to come back to Ireland every year since the 1979 trip.
More than a million people, around a third of the population, watched Pope John Paul celebrate Mass in Phoenix Park, Dublin, during his two-and-a-half day visit to Ireland in September 1979.