Poles flock to Vatican for beatification of ‘their’ pope FEATURE 04/26/2011

Poles flock to Vatican for beatification of ‘their’ pope

FEATURE

04/26/2011
WARSAW — Travelling on a fleet of planes, trains and cars, more than 50,000 Poles are expected to flock to the Vatican for the beatification on Sunday of “their” saint-to-be, Polish-born Pope John Paul II.

The funeral of Karol Wojtyla in April 2005 drew half a million Poles.

While his fast-track beatification — a key step towards canonisation as a saint — is a cause for joy among his countrymen, it nonetheless isn’t generating the same kind of mass pilgrimage to Rome this time around.

“I think there will be between 50,000 and 60,000 Poles in Rome for the beatification ceremonies,” Marcin Szklarski, a Polish tour operator specialising in religious pilgrimages, told AFP..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110426com7.html