Pope makes Pompeii pilgrimage

2003-10-07 12:13

Pompeii, Italy - When he first came to the shrine here as pontiff 24 years ago, Pope John Paul II prayed that he would faithfully and humbly serve God as long as the Lord wanted.

Returning to the shrine after flying on an Italian air force helicopter, John Paul is stooped and slowed by Parkinson's disease and other health problems.

Still, by making this pilgrimage the 83-year-old pope was defying sceptics who just a few weeks ago were doubting the pope would travel any more. Last month, he struggled to deliver speeches during a four-day pilgrimage to Slovakia.

Adding to the concern about his ability to continue as pontiff were several dire assessments of his health recently by top prelates. One cardinal said on the radio that John Paul was nearing his dying days.

Apparently bouncing back from an intestinal ailment that forced him to skip a public audience at the Vatican on September 24., John Paul led a more than two-hour-long canonisation ceremony on Sunday in St. Peter's Square.

While his stop in Pompeii on Tuesday was scheduled to last about just as long - from late morning till shortly after noon - the moving around was expected to take its toll on the pontiff.

No stairs

The Vatican devised a mini-lift to allow John Paul to use the helicopter without tackling stairs.

For several months now, John Paul has rarely been seen walking or even standing in public. He navigates the vast spaces of St Peter's Square and Basilica in a kind of throne-like chair on wheels guided by aides.

"I love the pope. He's the most holy man on Earth," said Ella McLoughlin, a pilgrim from Worcester, Massachusetts. "I think God still wants to use him. That's why he's still alive."

Thousands of pilgrims streamed to the shrine under overcast skies. But as the helicopter flew near, the sun came out.

Rosary

Pompeii, with its more than century-old shrine dedicated to the rosary, is very dear to the pope. He considers the rosary a powerful form of prayer and a way to invoke peace.

He began talking about a return to the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary when he flew over Pompeii in a helicopter on his way to visit the island of Ischia in May 2002.

The sanctuary draws four million faithful visitors each year to Pompeii, a sleepy town flanking the sprawling ruins of the ancient Roman city buried by ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

- AP