Pope John Paul, calling himself a sick man among the sick, arrived in the world's premier Roman Catholic "miracle shrine" on Saturday
Published:
16 August 2004 y., Monday
Pope John Paul, calling himself a sick man among the sick, arrived in the world's premier Roman Catholic "miracle shrine" on Saturday and urged society not to cast aside the old and the suffering.
The 84-year-old Pope, racked by Parkinson's disease and arthritis, began a 32-hour trip to the southwestern French city where the Madonna is said to have appeared to the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
His frailty was evident in his airport arrival address to President Jacques Chirac, which he read slowly, and later at the famous grotto where the visions are said to have taken place.
Aides had rested him on a kneeler to pray but he lost his balance and they had to rush up to prevent him from falling and seated him back on his wheeled throne.
After several minutes of intense prayer, he designated a cardinal to read his address for him, even though it was only four paragraphs long.
"With you I share a time marked by physical suffering, yet not for that reason any less fruitful in God's wondrous plan," he said.
The Pope was then wheeled away for some rest before a planned return to the grotto in the evening for a candlelight procession around the shrine which some six million people visit each year, many of them sufferers who pray for miracle cures as they drink holy waters.
Šaltinis:
slovakiapost.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
This Saturday, 24 April, the Carlos de Amberes Foundation is hosting two conferences of European experts on the environment and sustainability and immigration policies in the EU, organised by the Allianz Cultural Foundation in the context of the Allianz Alumni Academy.
more »
The Trident-Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai to reopen, following renovations after militant attacks in 2008
more »
Fresh from their wedding in Jamaica, British tourists Siobhan and David Monteith never thought for a minute that a volcano would interrupt their honeymoon.
more »
The streets of Manila filled with a colourful display on wheels, just days before the world celebrates Earth Day’s 40th anniversary.
more »
Tens of thousands of Ugandans flocked to the hilltop palace of Africa’s youngest tribal ruler for two days of noisy parties marking a decade in power for the 18-year-old king.
more »
Colourful warriors leap across the stage at the 6th annual Songjiang Battle Array, in Neimen, southern Taiwan.
more »
Consumers benefit from greater use of European product safety alert system and more effective market surveillance.
more »
Representatives from all Member States are gathering for two days in Zaragoza from 15 to 16 April to discuss how migrant integration can become a driver for social cohesion in the EU.
more »
The much heralded "citizens initiative" to change EU laws has been given a cautious welcome by MEPs. Under the scheme - a major innovation of the Lisbon treaty - a million people can back a plan to introduce European legislation.
more »
Football shares Europe's values of integration, solidarity and social inclusion, and can play a significant role in helping the EU to promote them, especially at the local level where clubs are part of their local communities.
more »