With the world watching, a frail but determined Pope John Paul II walked down the steps of his plane Tuesday instead of using a lift after arriving in Canada to join thousands of young Catholic pilgrims for World Youth Day.
Clutching a rail and helped by an aide, the 82-year-old pope inched his way down the 27 steps to the tarmac, drawing cheers from onlookers, after a stiff wind blew off his skull cap.
"The very fact that Your Holiness has made the trip here bears witness to your tenacity and your courage in pursuing the spiritual objectives that are at the heart of your pontificate," Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in welcoming the pope for the church's World Youth Day.
Some aides have expressed concern that the 11-day trip, which will continue to Guatemala and Mexico, may be too challenging for a man suffering from the ravaging symptoms of Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments.
John Paul boarded the Alitalia plane in Rome using a lift, one of several accommodations the Vatican has made because of his frail condition.
"I wish I was a fly on the wall in that plane. He must have told them he was going to walk down those stairs. That was astounding," said Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston, Ontario.
In recent months, the Vatican has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the pope is considering stepping down because of his ailments. On the flight from Rome, the pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the pope wanted to accept an invitation to the Philippines in January.
Chretien and other Canadian and church dignitaries greeted the pope outside the plane, and he climbed a moving platform to ride to a welcoming ceremony in a hangar a few hundred yards away.
Speaking in English and French in this officially bilingual country, John Paul thanked Toronto for welcoming the almost 200,000 pilgrims registered for World Youth Day, calling the event a crucial way to preserve hope in the young.
"Too many lives begin and end without joy, without hope," he said. "Young people are coming together to commit themselves, in the strength of their faith in Jesus Christ, to the great cause of peace and human solidarity."
The pope was greeted by a line of people, including 21-year-old Timothy Pippy of Mississauga, Ontario, disabled because of a crippling syndrome but still able to kiss the pontiff's ring.
"My son received a papal blessing and the holy father touched his cheek. I think I can live out my days on that," said Pippy's mother, Linda.
After the ceremony, John Paul boarded a military helicopter to the remote Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe, 50 miles north of the city, where he will rest before his first World Youth Day event Thursday. Joining him at a Catholic retreat on the island were his Polish secretary, his Italian doctor and several aides.
In the streets of Toronto, flag-waving, chanting groups of pilgrims visited the Lake Ontario waterfront and other tourist sites before heading to the Exhibition Place fairgrounds to watch the airport arrival on a large screen.
Cheers erupted at the sight of the pope, and the din grew even louder when John Paul headed down the stairs.
Toronto will probably be the most lightly attended World Youth Day since John Paul initiated the event in the mid-1980s. Millions attended similar events in the past in Rome, Paris and Manila, Philippines, compared to the almost 200,000 registered so far for the one in Toronto. It includes 55,000 Americans.
Vatican Radio said Monday that the low attendance could be blamed in part on the sex abuse scandals that have shaken the American church since January and uncertainties about travel since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
World Youth Day activities started Tuesday with pilgrims arriving by plane, car, train, and even on foot.
"It's amazing to be with youths who don't speak your language, even though they share the same faith," said Geoffrey Bilovus of Montreal, whose family hosted Romanian visitors over the weekend.
The pilgrims, ages 16 to 35, are coming from 170 countries for activities that include catechism classes with bishops, social service, a welcoming ceremony with the pope, a re-enactment of the stations of the cross along a downtown boulevard, and an all-night vigil followed by the final Mass on Sunday.
After resting on Strawberry Island, John Paul's first World Youth Day event will be a welcoming ceremony Thursday in downtown Toronto. He meets privately with Chretien and other political figures on Saturday before joining the pilgrims at their nighttime vigil north of the city. The Sunday Mass is at the same site.
Groups calling for church reform and stronger church action against sexual abuse by priests are holding an alternative conference. They will raise issues such as allowing women into the priesthood, reproductive health and the response to the sex scandals.
(China Daily July 24, 2002)
