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Not just the embodiment of the moral and spiritual opposition towards communism, but also the grand CEO of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II entered into the era of the global village by laying foot onto 115 different countries where his faithful toiled.
Pope John Paul II’s travels have defined one of his papacy’s most enduring of traditions – the globetrotting Pope, opening up to different cultures and traditions, meeting Christians from all over the world. And not just Christians, but also Muslims and Jews.
His customary genuflection at the foot of the stairs leading to his plane, kissing the ground beneath him, became the perpetual trademark of the Pope’s veneration of the people he visited.
Huge, adoring crowds met him wherever he went. His first visit to his native Poland back in 1979 and still under communist control, would prove to be a great source of embarrassment to the government. Officially, the country was atheist, but its people were devout Catholics. It marked John Paul II’s defining foray into the world of politics, where he reminded his fellow Poles of their human rights.
In front of a one-million strong crowd, John Paul II told them: “You are men. You have dignity. Don’t crawl on your bellies.”
John Paul II took the faith all around the globe, for the first time ever leaving his Roman seat of power. While other popes stayed close to Rome, remote and seemingly unapproachable, John Paul’s wide-ranging appearances became worldwide news events.
In the winter of 1999, the pope flew to Mexico and the United States and celebrated Mass for millions of people. His visits to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Chicago and Washington were welcomed by millions, attracting Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
He made more than 170 visits to over 115 countries over the past 20 years. As Time noted in naming him Man of the Year in 1994, he generates an electricity “unmatched by anyone else on earth.”
It is the young cleric Archbishop Renato Boccardo who organises and plans the Pope’s travels, and forms part of an unofficial inner core alongside Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, and Archbishop Stanislas Dziwicz, the Pope’s long-time secretary and latterly “guardian of the gate”.
Not only is he the most travelled pope in history – he speaks eight languages, learning Spanish after he became the pope – and he also has been quick to use the media and technology to his advantage, steering the Vatican into satellite transmissions and producing video cassettes.
When the Pope visited Cuba in January 1998, Cuban leader Fidel Castro set aside his green combat fatigues and put on a business suit to welcome him, and a number of functions for the Pope and escorted the frail pontiff with almost touching deference.
His travels sparked off great messages in defence of human rights. His criticism of such dictators as Alfred Stroessner in Paraguay, Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines encouraged opposition movements that eventually brought down those governments.
His support for the Solidarity movement in Poland – priests concealed messages from John Paul to imprisoned union leaders in their robes – was a key to the downfall of communism in Poland.
And during his visit to the US, he warned his hosts about the dangers of materialism, selfishness and secularism, and suggested lowering the standard of living and sharing the wealth with the Third World.
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