GERMANY: Pilgrims begin arriving in Regensburg for papal mass

As the sun rose over Regensburg on Tuesday (September 12), lines of hundreds of pilgrims could be seen making their way to Islinger fled. Many pilgrims had spent the night in sleeping bags on the field, to ensure a good position in hopes of seeing the Pope in person. "We saw him yesterday in Regensburg city and it was an unbelievable, indescribable feeling. And we are hoping for the same feeling when we take part in the ceremony today," Simone Kneidel, a religious education teacher said. Organisers and volunteers started to prepare the altar platform as pilgrims packed away their belongings filled with excitement ahead of the Pope's arrival. "I hope to find a direction for my whole life," Veronika Hein, who had traveled from Austria, said. 350,000 faithful are expected to attend today's mass, 100,000 more than attended the service in Munich on Saturday (September 9). Pope Benedict prayed for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States on Monday (September 12) as his Bavarian tour took him to three south German towns that played key roles in his life. The 79-year-old Pope joined in prayers for the victims during a mass for 70,000 people in Altoetting, a town of some 13,000 people known as the religious heart of Bavaria because it is home to the country's leading shrine to the Virgin Mary. He later made a quick early evening visit to nearby Marktl am Inn, where he was born on April 16, 1927, before flying by helicopter to Regensburg for a triumphant bell-ringing return to the city where he owns a house and once taught theology. Bells rang throughout Regensburg as the pope arrived in the evening in the city where he taught theology from 1969 to 1977 and hoped one day to return in retirement from Vatican service to write one last major theological work. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he twice asked Pope John Paul to let him retire from his job as the Vatican's top doctrinal official, but John Paul refused. Benedict rode to the majestic Gothic cathedral and stopped to wave to the crowds before going to the local seminary where he will stay. Benedict, who has said he hopes his trip will revive the faith in Germany, bemoaned the lack of priests around the world -- one of the main challenges facing the Catholic Church, which is experiencing shortages in many Western countries.

ITN Source | September 12, 2006

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