The President of the Government of the Azores will no longer attend the mass to be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in Lisbon on Monday evening.

The closure of the Azorean air space, enacted until 6 PM due to the ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland, prevented the take off of the flight that would bring Carlos César to the Portuguese capital.

The President of the Government and his wife Luísa had been invited by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, D. José Policarpo, to attend the first religious event of the four-day visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Portugal.