WEST BANK: Statue of late Pope John Paul II unveiled in the West Bank town of Bethlehem to mark his beatification

Record ID: 560260

  • Title: WEST BANK: Statue of late Pope John Paul II unveiled in the West Bank town of Bethlehem to mark his beatification
  • Date: 2nd May 2011
  • Summary: BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (MAY 1, 2011) (REUTERS) POPE JOHN PAUL II FOUNDATION IN BETHLEHEM POSTER WITH PICTURE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II SIGN READING IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH "POPE JOHN PAUL II FOUNDATION" VARIOUS OF CHRISTIAN CLERGYMEN ARRIVING AT CEREMONY FOR BEATIFICATION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II CLOSE OF CROSS PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD DURING CEREMONY PEOPLE PRAYING VARIOUS OF PRAYER HELD BY CHRISTIAN CLERGYMEN OF BETHLEHEM CLERGYMAN CARRYING CROSS PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD AND PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, CUSTODIAN OF THE HOLY LAND, CUTTING RIBBON TO UNVEIL STATUE VARIOUS OF STATUE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II FAYYAD AND HEAD OF POPE JOHN PAUL II FOUNDATION FATHER IBRAHIM FALTAS NEAR STATUE VARIOUS OF STATUTE HEAD OF POPE JOHN PAUL II FOUNDATION FATHER IBRAHIM FALTAS NEAR STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF POPE JOHN PAUL II FOUNDATION, FATHER IBRAHIM FALTAS, SAYING: "We in Bethlehem in Palestine, we celebrate the great Pope who loved Palestine. He used to care about everything happening in Palestine especially in Bethlehem city. Bethlehem used to be his city. Its residents are his people. He used to care about everything happening in Bethlehem, he used to ask about it. This is a thankful favour to the great Pope." MORE OF STATUE
  • Embargoed: 17th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: International Relations,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA6DKQFR0Y63UGTSOBWPV7R4ATE
  • Story Text: Scores of Palestinian Christians gathered on Sunday (May 1) in the West Bank town of Bethlehem to celebrate the beatification of late Pope John Paul II.
    His official beatification ceremony took place earlier on Sunday in Saint Peter's square in Rome, which marked the penultimate step in the process to make the late pontiff a saint.
    In Bethlehem, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, accompanied by the Custodian of the Holy Land Pierbattista Pizzaballa, unveiled a statue of Pope John Paul II, which is the first to be installed in the Middle East.
    "We in Bethlehem in Palestine, we celebrate the great Pope who loved Palestine. He used to care about everything happening in Palestine especially in Bethlehem city. Bethlehem used to be his city. Its residents are his people. He used to care about everything happening in Bethlehem, he used to ask about it. This is a thankful favour to the great Pope," head of Pope John Paul II foundation Father Ibrahim Faltas told Reuters Television.
    In Rome, a place of honour was reserved for Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, a French nun who suffered from Parkinson's disease but whose inexplicable cure has been attributed to John Paul's intercession with God to perform a miracle, thus permitting the beatification to go ahead.
    The Vatican will have to attribute another miracle to John Paul's intercession after the beatification in order for him to be declared a saint.
    The pope is being beatified on the day the Church celebrates the movable Feast of Divine Mercy, which this year happens to fall on May 1.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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