- Pastoral trips of Pope John Paul II
During his
reign ,Pope John Paul II ("The Pilgrim Pope") made 104 foreign trips, more than all previous popes put together. In total he logged more than 1,167,000 km (725,000 miles). He consistently attracted large crowds on his travels, some amongst the largest ever assembled in human history. While some of his trips (such as to theUnited States and theHoly Land ) were to places previously visited byPope Paul VI (the first pope to travel widely), many others were to places that nopope had ever visited before.One of John Paul II's earliest official visits was to Poland, in June 1979. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/2/newsid_3972000/3972361.stm] While there he held Mass in Victory Square in
Warsaw before over two million of his countrymen.He became the first reigning pope to travel to the United Kingdom in
1982 , where he met Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of theChurch of England . This trip was in danger of being cancelled due to the then currentFalklands War ( _es. Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur), against which he spoke out during the visit. In a dramatic symbolic gesture, he knelt in prayer alongside the thenArchbishop of Canterbury , Robert Runcie, in the See of theChurch of England ,Canterbury Cathedral , founded by StAugustine of Canterbury . They prayed at the site of the martyrdom ofSt. Thomas à Becket , meant as a show of friendship between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. This visit had to be balanced for fairness with an unscheduled trip toArgentina that June.Throughout his trips, he stressed his devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary through visits to variousshrines to the Virgin Mary , notably Knock in Ireland, Fátima inPortugal , Guadalupe inMexico , andLourdes inFrance . His public visits were centred on largePapal Mass es; 1,250,000 people, one quarter of the population of the island of Ireland, (one third of the population ofRepublic of Ireland ) [ The figure 1,250,000 is mentioned on the commemorative stone at the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park, Dublin ] attended hisMass inDublin 'sPhoenix Park in1979 .In
1984 , John Paul became the first Pope to visitPuerto Rico . Stands were especially erected for him atLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, where he met with governorCarlos Romero Barceló , and atPlaza Las Americas .The pope made a pastoral trip to
Singapore in 1986, and he was warmly received by the then-Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew in theIstana . Following that, the Pope made pastoral speeches concerning the Catholic doctrines in theNational Stadium of Singapore , which was viewed by a large audience, mainly Catholics.There was a plot to assassinate the Pope during his visit to
Manila in January1995 , as part ofOperation Bojinka , a mass terrorist attack that was developed byAl-Qaeda membersRamzi Yousef andKhalid Sheik Mohammed . Asuicide bomber dressed as apriest and planned to use the disguise to get closer to thePope 's motorcade so that he could kill the Pope by detonating himself. Before15 January , the day on which the men were to attack the Pope during his Philippine visit, an apartment fire brought investigators led byAida Fariscal to Yousef's laptop computer, which had terrorist plans on it, as well as clothes and items that suggested an assassination plot. Yousef was arrested inPakistan about a month later, but Khalid Sheik Mohammed was not arrested until2003 . During this trip to Philippines, on 15 January 1995, he offered Mass to an estimated crowd of 4–5 million inLuneta Park , Manila, the largest papal crowd ever. [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/index.asp?ID=54161]Pope
John Paul II 's strong Marian devotion was highly influenced by theMariology of SaintLouis de Montfort and according to his Apostolic Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae ", the pontif's personal motto "Totus Tuus" was inspired by St. Louis' doctrine on "total consecration to the Virgin Mary" [*Pope John Paul II 's Apostolic Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html] [Pope John Paul II on de Montfort http://www.catholicregister.org/content/view/1402/857/] . Accordingly, on September 19th 1996,Pope John-Paul II made a trip toSaint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre inFrance to meditate and pray on the adjacent tombs of SaintLouis de Montfort and BlessedMarie Louise Trichet , whom he beatified himself.On
22 March 1998 , during his second Papal visit toNigeria , he beatified the Nigerian monk [http://www.afrikaworld.net/tansi/index.html] Cyprian Michael Tansi. This was a beatification that greatly endeared the Pope to many African Catholics.Also in 1999, John Paul II made another of his multiple trips to the United States, this time celebrating Mass in St. Louis in the
Edward Jones Dome . Over 104,000 people attended the Mass, making it the biggest indoor gathering in United States history.In
2000 , he became the first modern Catholic pope to visitEgypt , where he met with the Coptic Pope and theGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria .In May
2001 , the Pontiff took a pilgrimage that would trace the steps of his co-namesake, Saint Paul, across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Syria to Malta. John Paul II became the first Pope to visitGreece in 1291 years. The visit was controversial, and the Pontiff was met with protests and snubbed by Eastern Orthodox leaders, none of whom met his arrival.In
Athens , the Pope met with ArchbishopChristodoulos , the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Greece. After a private 30 minute meeting, the two spoke publicly. Christodoulos read a list of "13 offences" of the Roman Catholic Church against the Orthodox Church since the Great Schism, including the pillaging ofConstantinople by crusaders in1204 . He also bemoaned the lack of any apology from the Roman Catholic Church, saying that "until now, there has not been heard a single request for pardon" for the "maniacal crusaders of the 13th century".The Pope responded by saying, "For the occasions past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us forgiveness," to which Christodoulos immediately applauded. John Paul also said that the sacking of Constantinople was a source of "deep regret" for Catholics.
Later, John Paul and Christodoulos met on a spot where Saint Paul had once preached to Athenian Christians. They issued a "common declaration", saying, "We shall do everything in our power, so that the Christian roots of Europe and its Christian soul may be preserved. ... We condemn all recourse to violence, proselytism and fanaticism, in the name of religion." The two leaders then said the
Lord's Prayer together, breaking an Orthodox taboo against praying with Catholics.However, during the visit the Pope avoided any mention of
Cyprus , still a source of tension between the two faiths.He was the first Roman Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic
Mosque , inDamascus ,Syria . He visited Umayyad Mosque, whereJohn the Baptist is believed to be interred.In September
2001 , amid post-September 11th concerns, he travelled toKazakhstan , with an audience composed largely ofMuslim s, and toArmenia , to participate in the celebration of the 1700 years ofChristianity in that nation.Also, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, was the first Pope to visit Scotland. His visit was uplifting to the minority of Roman Catholics in the country, 300,000 of whom celebrated Mass with the Holy Father at Bellahoustan Park, who, due to the "Act of Settlement 1701" are prohibited from being head of state. On this visit the Pope faced protest from Protestant extremist Pastor Jack Glass and his followers.
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