Pilgrims to seek "face of God" on Vatican charters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Passengers on United Airlines "fly the friendly skies" and on American Airlines they hope to experience "something special in the air."

But a slogan by a new, Vatican-approved charter service leaves little doubt about what its clients are doing at 30,000 feet: "I'm Searching for Your Face, Lord."

Mistral Air plans to shuttle Catholic pilgrims around the globe to holy sites, including the shrine of Fatima in Portugal and the shrine of the Madonna of Guadalupe in Mexico.

"The spirit of this new initiative is to meet the growing demand by pilgrims to visit the most important sites for the faith," Father Cesare Atuire at the Vatican pilgrimage office, the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, told La Repubblica daily.

Repubblica said Mistral Air's slogan will be emblazoned on material throughout the aircraft, which will be operated by Italy's postal service.

The debut charter flight late this month will be to the shrine of Lourdes in France, and will lure pilgrims with one added bonus -- the guide will be Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former head of the Italian Bishops Conference, Repubblica said.