Vienna, Austria, Sep 7, 2007 / 07:48 am
Following a ceremony in which he dedicated Austria and all of its people to the protection of Mary, Pope Benedict XVI traveled to the nearby Judenplatz, which contains a commemorative monument to the Shoah (Holocaust).
The Holy Father was received there by the Chief Rabbi and the president of the Jewish community in Vienna. He paused to pray in silence and speak with members of the Jewish community that had gathered to greet him.
Onboard the plane to Vienna, the Pope told the AP that the visit to the Holocaust shrine would be a “moment to express our sadness, our repentance and our friendship towards the Jews.”
The Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn also reminded those assembled, that Jesus and the apostles were Jewish and that "we must never forget our roots."