Worry about bad weather prompted a last-minute change in Pope Francis’ travel plans Thursday during his Polish pilgrimage, with the pontiff opting to take a vehicle instead of a military helicopter to a shrine cherished by Poles as their spiritual capital.
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Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, arrived in Poland on Wednesday afternoon for World Youth Days and has been greeted by President Andrzej Duda, First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda and Prime Minister Beata Szydło at the airport in Kraków.
Francis will have his first big meeting with the young faithful in a Krakow meadow Thursday evening.
Pope Francis gestures as he speaks to journalists aboard his flight from Rome to Krakow, Poland, July 27.
Polish President Andrzej Duda kisses the hand of Pope Francis during a welcoming ceremony at Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow, Poland July 27, 2016.
En route, Francis made an unscheduled stop at a clinic to visit and pray for comatose Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, an-89-year-old retired prelate who had been archbishop of Krakow.
The Argentine, 79, was making his first evening appearance at the window of the archbishop’s palace in Krakow, greeting pilgrims from across the world following a tradition begun by pope John Paul II. An hour before the start of Mass, marking the 1,050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism, the town under drab skies, seemed largely subdued for a place about to host a pontiff.
A military band played the anthems of the Vatican of Poland and the crowd waved the white-and-yellow flags of the Holy See and white-and-red flags of Poland.
There, President Duda, a Catholic hailing from Krakow, hailed Francis as a “support, a road sign” in life for young people. The pope’s five-day visit to Poland comes just a day after the killing of an elderly priest in northern France, which has added to the security fears and growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe. Polish officials say they have deployed tens of thousands of security officials to cover the event.
“Their presence helps us concentrate on our prayers and brings us closer to God”, said Nounella Blanchedent, 22, from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. “And they want to disturb that”.
She was one of the volunteers helping with security and logistics at the packed church, where a Mass was being held in French for pilgrims from France, Belgium and other countries.
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Relics of St. Mary Magdalene came to the church from France, for the duration of World Youth Day, and were displayed in a case by the altar. Later he will visit the Jasna Gora shrine in Czestochowa, Catholic Poland’s holiest site. Please see our terms of service for more information.
