Not a final farewell
Pop e hopes to return to Poland
KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) — Pope John Paul II said a prolonged goodbye at the end of his four-day visit to Poland, making impromptu stops at several churches and circling his native Archdiocese of Krakow by-helicopter and airplane before returning to Rome. Before the pope was even off the ground , some were already making tentative plans for his return. At a departure ceremony Aug. 19 at the Krakow airport , Cardinal Jozef Glemp formally invited the pope to Warsaw to inau gurate a Shrine of Divine Providence , which is currentl y under construction. The pope blessed the foundation stone of the building in 1999Earlier, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewskisaid that during private talks with the pontiff he, too, had invited the pope to return. The Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Vails, said he was convinced the pope would be back.
The pope goes home again
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The 82-year-old pontiff, frai l but in good spirits during his ninth visit to his homeland , said at a Mass Aug. 18 that the question of another trip to Poland was "entirely in God's hands. " That evening, as he bade well-wishers farewell , they chanted back: "No. This is not the last meeting. " Aware of those hopes, he spoke the next day at the airport ceremony about people who weren't able to see him in Krakow, and added: "Maybe next time. " "It is so sad to leave," he said before walking onto his p lane. After take-off , the 737 j et circled several times at low altitude over Krakow, giving the pope a final bird's-eye view of' the city. Then it made a similar pass over nearby Wadowice , the pope 's home town. A few hours earlier, the pope 's helicopter had buzzed the town square as thousands waved from below. The pope 's plane next headed for the Tatra Mountains and dipped over Zakopane, a resort where the pope often hiked as a younger man, before finall y heading out of Polish airspace toward Rome.
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Top photo: PopeJohn Paul II arrives at the altar to celebrate Mass attended by 2.2 million people in Krakow's Blonia Park Aug. 18. Two children dressed in traditional Polish garb greet the pope at the Mass.
Prayer and song will mark Sept. 11 anniversary Plans for the commemoration of the first anniversary of the day that changed America are "close to go, " said Joni Gallagher, a member of the committee coordinating the allday event .September I i at San Francisco 's St. Mary 's Cathedral. "I' m very excited at the feedback we ' re getting from parishioners , " Ms. Gallagher, associate director of the School of Pastoral Leadership,said. "One parish has told us they ' re roiling a bus. " Doug Benbow, the dihedral's director of liturgy and chair of the planning committee , said "two to three hundred people " have come forward to voluntee r for the effort. Hopes are high that more than 2,000 people will find their way to the cathedral for the day 's many opportunities for prayer, meditation and entertainment, Ms. Gallagher said. A part of the day, 2p.m.- 6 p.m., will he devoted to Music of Remembrance. 'M usic allows us to grieve, mourn MH \ celebra te, " said Linda Myers , director of music at San Rafael 's St. Isabella Parish , who will sing two solo selections.
"Music touches my soul and 1 think the souls of others;' she said. Other music artists scheduled to perform include Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan, an internationall y known composer, and Elena Bocharova of the San Francisco Opera. Children 's choirs and dance ensembles will perform at a 9:30 am prayer service that will end with the release of "white birds for world peace" timed to take place at about the time of the collapse of the first tower of the World Trade Center. Student singers from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School will lead song at a 12:10 p.m. Mass with Auxiliary Bishop John C. Wester presiding. Archbishop William J. Levada will preside at the day's opening liturgy at 8 a.m. and host an interfaith serviceending the day at 7:30 p.m. For more information , contact Mr. Benbow at (415) 567-2020, ext. 220 or Anne Dtiskin at est. 205.