Pope planning to make Poland pilgrimage
Pope John Paul II is planning to make a pilgrimage to Poland, the land of his birth, in June if his health permits it, Poland’s primate was quoted as saying yesterday after returning from a visit to the Vatican.
Poland’s church-run Catholic Information Agency quoted Cardinal Jozef Glemp as saying that the pontiff is hoping to take part in a Mass in Warsaw on June 19 during the visit, but stressed that no firm plans had yet been made.
“The program of the pope’s stay will fully depend on the state of his health, so it is hard at this moment to give the details of the pilgrimage,” Glemp said.
The pope was last in Poland in 2002.
The 84-year-old pontiff, who has Parkinson’s disease and crippling knee and hip ailments, has cut back his travel but is expected to visit Germany in August for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Youth Day.
