POLAND: ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTEND OPEN AIR MASS IN REMEMBRANCE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

Record ID: 647469

  • Title: POLAND: ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTEND OPEN AIR MASS IN REMEMBRANCE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
  • Date: 8th April 2005
  • Summary: (BN13) KRAKOW, POLAND (APRIL 7, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. HAS /SLV/MV MARCH 0.16 2. (SOUNDBITE)(English) BISHOP JOSEF GOZDEK, BISHOP POLISH CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYING: "Often when someone passes away, it causes many tears, sometimes silence. We are singing a song of thanksgiving. Someone who has faith and believes knows it is not the end when someone dies but a passing to be with God. We are very happy, we are singing a song of thanks for such a great pontiff." 0.44 4. (SOUNDBITE)(English) MARCHER ZOJA BLAZINSKA SAYING: "We want to say thanks to our Holy Father and also we want to say thanks to god for giving us the Holy Father." 1.04 5. (SOUNDBITE)(English) MARCHER PIOTR ZUREK SAYING: "This march demonstrates the values that John Paul II represented." 1.15 6. CROWD 1.20 7. (SOUNDBITE)(English) MARCHER MAGDALENA CEGLINSKA SAYING: "The message is that we love the Pope and whenever the Pope was there, a large group of people were there and we will always be together with him." 1.34 8. HAS CROWD; SOLDIERS WALKING ALONGSIDE NUNS'; BACK OF MARCHER; SLV FLAGS / PULLOUT TO MARCHERS; MV MARCHERS IN TRADITIONAL CLOTHES; MV YOUNG GIRL BEHIND A GATE LOOKING ON (9 SHOTS) 2.35 9. MV MARCHERS WALKING PAST ARCHBISHOPS PALACE WHERE POPE JOHN PAUL II WAS CARDINAL OF KRAKOW BEFORE HE BECAME PONTIFF / CLOSE-UP OF POPE JOHN PAUL II'S WINDOW; OPEN-AIR MASS AT OLD TOWN SQUARE WITH PICTURE OF JESUS IN BACKGROUND (5 SHOTS) 3.21 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 23rd April 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KRAKOW,POLAND
  • Country: Poland
  • Reuters ID: LVA4B1MU528OETZTJMX0IHBQ3HPV
  • Story Text: 150,000 people at open air mass in Polish city of
    Krakow to remember Pope.

    A crowd of 150,000 pilgrims in Krakow held an
    open-air mass for Pope John Paul II who was cardinal of the
    Polish city before he rose to Pontiff.

    Pilgrims marched through the streets to remember one of
    their most beloved and famous countrymen who is often
    credited with being the catalyst to bring down the helping
    to bring down communism
    Many were saddened by the loss of Karol Josef Wojtyla
    but said they were grateful that he graced the world with
    his life.

    "Often when someone passes away, it causes many tears,
    sometimes silence. We are singing a song of thanksgiving.

    Someone who has faith and believes knows it is not the end
    when someone dies but a passing to be with God. We are very
    happy, we are singing a song of thanks for such a great
    pontiff," said Bishop Josef Gozdek, Bishop Polish Catholic
    Church.

    The faithful paid homage to Pope John Paul with
    messages. "We want to say thanks to our Holy Father and
    also we want to say thanks to god for giving us the Holy
    Father", "The message is that we love the Pope and whenever
    the Pope was there, a large group of people were there and
    we will always be together with him".

    Poland is observing six days of mourning, ending in a
    holiday on Friday (April 8) for John Paul's funeral, with
    flags at half mast, entertainment and sports events
    cancelled and television and radio stations playing mostly
    programmes about the Pope.

    Millions of Poles have attended church ceremonies and huge
    open-air masses in past days and as thousands are
    expected to attend the Pope's funeral in Rome.

    Sociologists said Poles were not only rallying around
    their greatest native son for spiritual reasons but also to
    cling to something positive.

    Poles' lives are filled with the struggles of a society
    newly joined to the European Union but still catching up
    with richer Western European states after nearly half a
    century of living under communism.

    "Poles want to be united by something innately good,
    something beyond their everyday lives," said Slawomir
    Kapralski, a professor at the School of Social Psychology
    in Warsaw.

    News programmes, usually pre-occupied by Poland's
    volatile politics and sleaze scandals ahead of upcoming
    elections, have also focused nearly entirely on the late
    Pontiff.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register