Thousands welcome Benedict

2006-05-27 12:24

Wadowice - Some 25 000 cheering Polish pilgrims on Saturday welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to the birthplace of his predecessor as he began a journey to the key sites in the life of John Paul II.

The mayor of the southern Polish town of Wadowice, Ewa Filipiak, made a gift to the pontiff of bread and salt, a Polish traditional welcome as many in the crowd waved the white and yellow flag of the Vatican.

They had begun arriving before sunrise, which in late spring in Poland comes at around 04:15, and, six hours later, when German-born Benedict arrived, thousands were packed into Market Square.

"I like Benedict XVI a lot. He is following in the footsteps of our pope," said Joanna Bryndza, 21, who works in a bookshop in this southern Polish town.

"He's friendly, open. He's learning our language. No one in Wadowice is bothered that he's German. The people here are very open to him.

Can't compare to John Paul II

"We shouldn't compare him with John Paul II. Of course, no one will forget John Paul II. Each time we think of him, that he is no longer here, tears come to our eye. But now, Benedict is our pope," she said.

Wadowice has put on all its papal finery for the visit. Yellow and white flags of the Vatican fluttered in the morning breeze.

The basilica in the central square has been renovated for Benedict's visit, and its white walls - onto which the young Karol Wojtyla used to look out from the house at 7 Koscielna Street in which he was born - gleamed in the sunshine. Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978.

'Be strong in the faith'

Benedict will visit the basilica and the house at Koscielna Street, which now houses a museum to his predecessor, before meeting with pilgrims during his one-hour visit.

"Be strong in the faith" is the slogan of Benedict's four-day visit to Poland, which began in joyous hymns of welcome on Thursday in the capital, Warsaw, and will end Sunday in solemn prayer at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.

- AFP