Invigorating Homecoming for Pope

KRAKOW, Poland -- Pope John Paul II arrived here in his homeland Friday on a sentimental journey that from its first moments seemed to boost the morale of both the frail, ailing pontiff and this economically troubled nation.

Appearing at the door of his airplane with his face lighted by a happy smile, the 82-year-old John Paul seemed invigorated at being home. He walked down the steps of the plane and delivered a 25-minute arrival speech in a slow but clear voice.

The pontiff declared the motto of this pilgrimage to be “God, rich in mercy.” He went on to link that with his religious agenda while in Krakow, 25 miles from his hometown of Wadowice, and with the wish that Poland’s economic transformation from communism to capitalism be marked by greater concern for those who have fallen behind.

“This is the message of divine mercy that I bring today to the nation and to my countrymen,” he declared: “Fear not!”

Although John Paul’s arms shook--he suffers from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease--and his age was evident, the relative strength he displayed came in sharp contrast to a May journey to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. On that trip he was lowered from his plane by a lift, had aides read most of his speeches and often mumbled when he spoke.

His difficulties prompted growing speculation that he might resign the papacy. He has made it clear he has no desire to do so, but the Vatican has been unable to stamp out rumors that he might step down during this trip to Poland and simply stay here.

In what looked like an effort to end such talk, John Paul referred in his arrival speech to “these three days of my stay in my homeland.” He will return to Rome on Monday after a series of appearances, including presiding over an open-air Mass on Sunday that about 2 million people are expected to attend.

This is John Paul’s ninth trip to Poland as pope. On each of his last two journeys, in 1997 and 1999, there was much speculation that each might be his last visit home as pontiff. People again expressed such fears Friday.

“Maybe this is his last visit, and I really want to see him,” said Leslaw Kaczor, 38, a Krakow businessman who came with his wife and two sons to catch a glimpse of John Paul at the church residence where he was staying. “Just seeing the pope, people feel hope. There are very few people in the world who have such an influence on others.”

President Aleksander Kwasniewski, welcoming John Paul at the airport, acknowledged that many people here are disappointed with the country’s 13-year-old transition from communism. Poland is suffering from a double-digit unemployment rate and a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

“Democracy and a market economy, which in themselves are great and desirable gains, can also be the source of many problems that have to be overcome,” Kwasniewski said. “Many people are jobless and many Polish homes suffer poverty....The Polish people need support, fortitude and hope, which you, your holiness, have been sharing with us with such great consistency and generosity over the decades.

“I also trust that this visit will fortify not only us here in Poland, but also your holiness, that we can pass on to our great compatriot this huge energy, this special strength and support that flow from millions of loving hearts.... May it be the Polish miracle cure for pain and fatigue.”

John Paul has played a key role in the transformation of Poland, a heavily Roman Catholic nation, since his first journey back as pope in 1979, when he prayed for God to “send forth your spirit and renew the face of the Earth, of this land.”

Those words were seen as part of the inspiration for the creation a year later of the Solidarity trade union movement, which eventually brought about the collapse of communism in Poland.

“I know that many Polish families, especially the largest ones, and many unemployed and elderly people are carrying the weight of social and economic change,” John Paul said Friday. “I wish to tell all of them that I spiritually share their burden and their fate.”

John Paul also joked about sitting down more than the other dignitaries present.

“I’d like to apologize,” he said. “The president is standing. The cardinal [Krakow Archbishop Franciszek Macharski] is standing. And I’m sitting.”

Later in the evening, the pontiff appeared at a window of the archbishop’s residence--John Paul’s home from 1964 until he was elected pope in 1978--to greet a mostly youthful crowd of well-wishers.

“Welcome home!” shouted the crowd.

“If somebody did not know, it’s Franciszkanska 3,” John Paul replied, giving the residence address in a way that indicated he still considers it home.

“We love you!” responded the crowd, chanting the phrase.

“I’m so happy that he told people, ‘Do not be afraid,’ that God is above all those forces of evil that make us sad, apathetic and hopeless,” said Julita Mendyka, 39, a Catholic boys school employee from Warsaw. “I’m happy also that he’s so full of wit and so lively, that he shows his adversaries that he’s absolutely able to lead the church and doesn’t have to resign.”

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Ela Kasprzycka of The Times’ Warsaw Bureau contributed to this report.