.- On
April 2 an estimated 100,000 people from around the world are expected
to participate in events honoring John Paul II in Rome and
Poland—including the carrying of a symbolic torch from the Vatican to
Krakow.
Police in Rome
have said they expect large numbers of pilgrims, especially from
Poland, to descend upon the city for a rosary on April 2 and a special
Mass on April 3 celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Congregation
for the Causes of Saints has also announced the diocesan phase of the
cause of beatification of John Paul II will be concluded on April 1.
This Tuesday
also saw the inauguration of the first ever “Lolek Torch,” an event in
which dozens of athletes are running from Rome to Krakow, symbolically
retracing the journey of young Karol Wojtyla—who was known
affectionately in Poland as “Lolek”—from his native land to the See of
Peter.
According to
Fides, a group of runners will pass on to one another the “Lolek Torch”
in cities along the way, including Assisi, Loreto, Czestochowa and
Wadowice. The torch was lit on Tuesday at the tomb of John Paul
II and was received by Pope Benedict XVI today at the Wednesday General
Audience. From there it will be carried through Assisi and
Loreto, where a prayer vigil will be led by Archbishop Gianni Danzi of
Loreto on Thursday night
On Friday
runners will begin carrying it from Loreto through Wadowice to
Czestochowa and then on to Krakow by April 2. There it will be
handed to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and the faithful gathered at the
Cathedral of Sts. Wescenslaus and Stanislaw for a prayer vigil lasting
through 9:37pm local time, the exact moment when John Paul II died one
year earlier.
The group of runners will cover some 313 miles—139 in Italy and 174 in Poland.
100,000 pilgrims expected for events honoring John Paul II
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