Pope asks for prayers before trip to Poland
VATICAN CITY (AP) – No longer able to travel with ease, Pope John Paul II asked Catholics on Thursday to pray for him during his trip to his native Poland. The four-day pilgrimage, which begins Friday afternoon with a flight to Krakow, is John Paul’s ninth visit to his homeland since he became pope in 1978.
The first time he went back, in 1979, his fellow countrymen saw a robust, athletic, middle-aged man who helped inspire them in their ultimately successful quest to rid their nation of communist rule.
This time, the millions of Poles who are expected for outdoor Masses will see a stooped, 82-year-old man who has to increasingly rely on aides and devices, like canes and mechanical carts, to get around.
Praying to the Virgin Mary during an appearance to mark the Catholic feast day of the Assumption, John Paul said: “I would like today to entrust to you in a special way my pastoral voyage in Poland that I will undertake tomorrow, if it pleases God.”
Sitting in a chair in the courtyard of his summer palace in Castel Gandolfo, a town outside Rome, John Paul told pilgrims: “Dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to accompany me with prayer.”
Speaking in Polish at one point, John Paul expressed his anticipation of visiting a religious sanctuary at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a town near Krakow which he often visited as a boy and which is celebrating its 400th anniversary.
When he goes to the town, the pope told the pilgrims, he will “thank God for all the grace that in the course of these four centuries He has poured out to generations of faithful.”
John Paul also sought to comfort those stricken by flooding in Europe. “A special mention goes to the victims of bad weather, which in these days have struck several nations in Europe, and to all those who are undergoing the grave suffering caused by the flooding,” John Paul said. “To all, I assure my spiritual closeness and I invoke on each one the maternal protection of the Madonna.”
The ailing pontiff sounded weak as he began reading his speech to the pilgrims. But his voice gained strength toward the end of his appearance when he stood up, leaning on a lectern for support, to recite prayers.
The trip to Poland has prompted speculation that the pope, struggling with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, might decide to stay in his homeland.
Vatican officials insist the pope intends to return to Rome and is planning a trip to Croatia next year.