Joyously welcomed by faithful in Lviv (07/01/01)

Joyously welcomed by faithful in Lviv

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

LVIV - If the Kyiv portion of the papal visit to Ukraine largely had to do with the often difficult politics of religion and state, the Lviv end of the trip became a series of warm and relaxed encounters with those who had waited for years to greet a man they truly respect, admire and in many cases lionize.

On the evening of June 25, Pope John Paul II arrived at Lviv Airport, where he received an official welcome from local and regional dignitaries before being whisked away in his popemobile to the eager masses awaiting him on the cobblestone streets of this medieval town, which dates from the 14th century.

Lvivians replaced the cool reception the pope received in Kyiv with warmth and exuberance. Tens of thousands waved, sang, screamed and cried as the popemobile first stopped at the historic Armenian Church in the old section and then at the Polish Cathedral before traveling to St. George Cathedral, where the holy father spent the evening.

The next morning's scenes at the site of the first religious service in Lviv, a Latin-rite mass in the Polish language, were far different from what Kyiv offered. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims - estimates ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 - welcomed Pope John Paul II at the newly refurbished Lviv Hippodrome.

They came from all the Eastern and Central European countries, as well as Germany and Italy. Police estimated the prior day that in a 24-hour period 350,000 people had crossed the western border of Ukraine - 100,000 from Poland alone.

Unlike the changing weather patterns in Kyiv, Lviv's weather was warm and sunny, at least initially that morning. Utilizing the chants that by then had become commonplace at the liturgical services, the crowds clapped, cheered and waited in relative patience for the appearance of the popemobile and its passenger, while waving Polish, Ukrainian and Vatican flags to keep themselves occupied.

Central to both liturgical ceremonies in Lviv were the beatifications of those elevated to the status of "blessed." On this first day, the pope certified two Roman Catholic priests, Archbishop Josef Bilczewski and Rev. Zygmund Gorazdowski. He called the beatification of Archbishop Bilczewski "a personal joy" because he was of the direct apostolic lineage from which the pope received his episcopal elevation.

During his third sermon on Ukrainian soil, the holy father called on Poles and Ukrainians to forget the past and to work together to better their lives and build their faith. "It is time to leave behind the sorrowful past," said the pope. "The Christians of the two nations must walk together."

An equally large crowd gathered before the recently completed Nativity of the Mother of God (Theotokos) Church in the Sykhiv area of Lviv to hear the pope during his traditional meeting with youth. More than 250,000 people - some estimates put the number at closer to half a million - jammed the open spaces around the new church located in a still-developing area of Lviv.

After the pope made a quick stop to bless the future site of the Ukrainian Catholic University, he made his way to Sykhiv, where a huge thunderstorm broke just as he arrived. The rain did not deter the enthusiastic crowd, which greeted him with chants of "Slava" (Glory), "Vitayemo" (Welcome) and "We love the pope."

Seated on stage and obviously enjoying the opportunity to meet with the youth of Ukraine, the pope told the crowd, "The pope loves you very much," which elicited approving shrieks and the response, "We love you too, pope."

A prayer service and the pope's homily took up the first part of the two-hour rally, which was followed by a presentation of Ukrainian and Polish dance by several youth dance ensembles from the region.

During his talk to the crowd, the holy father stressed the need to return to the basic elements of moral Christian behavior as espoused in the Ten Commandments.

"In today's world we see profound and rapid social changes and many moral points of reference have become shaky, throwing people into confusion and, sometimes, despair," explained the pontiff. "The decalogue is like a compass in a stormy sea which enables us to keep on course and reach land."

As the rain continued with little let-up, the crowd, even though covered by a sea of umbrellas, became increasingly wet, and quiet, until the pope unexpectedly stopped his speech as he was nearing its end and began to sing a Polish folk song: "Rain do not fall, do not fall, but return through the forest and the mountains, from the heavens from which you came." As the pope sang in a sturdy voice, quite unlike the tremulous tone of his readings, the people first looked at each other in disbelief and then broke into loud ovations.

Having raised the spirits of the throng, the pope finished his speech and then bid farewell to the young people in three languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Russian.

Before his departure he spent another hour in obvious glee watching an exhibition of traditional Ukrainian and Polish folk dances presented by various dance ensembles from western Ukraine.

And just as the rain marked his arrival, the sun broke out to record the end of his stay, which caused another unexpected outburst from the pope: "In the end, the sun," he said. The crowd replied with another roar and thunderous applause. The pope added: "That's enough for today."

Although the rain that poured down on the people for a good portion of the youth rally left most wet and muddy, the pope's performance, and the spontaneity of his comments, for which he has become known, left the participants thoroughly upbeat.

"I had never cried because of happiness, but I did when I saw him in the papamobile," said Hanusia Melnyk, 44, of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Zhanetta Lototska, 12, of Lviv was unequivocal in her praise. "He is the greatest person ever," she said.

The final day of the pope's visit marked the emotional culmination of his five-day visit to Ukraine and the largest turnout for any event. The grounds of the Hippodrome, which officials said had been developed to easily hold a million people for the pope's visit, were nearly packed. Officials and the media gave various estimates on the turnout for the final liturgy, which ranged from 1 million to 1.5 million. It was the largest gathering ever for a Byzantine-rite liturgical service, explained Jeffrey Wills, a spokesperson for the UGCC.

The Rev. Borys Gudziak, rector of the Lviv Theological Academy, who warmed up the crowd before the arrival of the popemobile said that, given the Byzantine-rite tradition of the laity singing the responses to the liturgy, it could also be considered the largest choir in history.

The highlight of the service was the pope's declaration of the beatification of 27 martyrs for the faith and one foundress of a religious order, the largest single group to achieve the status of "blessed" in the more than 400-year history of the UGCC.

The 28 blessed, 27 of whom perished as a result of Soviet persecution and one who died at the hands of the Nazis, consist of eight bishops, eight priests, seven monks, four nuns and one layperson. Their faces were displayed on two large screens on either side of the stage on which the altar stood as their biographies and the grizzly details of some of their deaths were read prior to the liturgy.

The Rev. Gudziak reminded the faithful that the UGCC, which was banned by Soviet authorities and forcibly joined with the Russian Orthodox Church in 1946, was once the largest banned Church in the world, as well as the largest social organization in opposition to the Soviet system.

President Leonid Kuchma was present at this final liturgical service as he had been at the first one in Kyiv. As the president arrived, the Rev. Gudziak pleaded with him from the pulpit on the stage, to have the Cabinet of Ministers recognize theology as a legitimate area of study.

During his meeting in Kyiv with representatives of politics, science, business and the arts, Pope John Paul II also had appealed to "the men and women of culture" to recognize the study of theology and expressed his "sincere desire that the teaching of theology would receive appropriate recognition also from the civil authorities."

Neither the UGCC's Lviv Theological Academy nor any other Catholic or Orthodox theological institution officially can confer degrees in theology because the government does not recognize that specialty.

In his final sermon, the pope spoke of "the victory of love over death" in the acts of the 28 persons beatified. While expressing his admiration for them and their ultimate sacrifice, he also said that the tragic past must be forgotten.

The holy father also mentioned Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky in his sermon and expressed hope and confidence that the leader of the UGCC for a good portion of the past century would soon join those beatified.

As the pope pronounced the beatifications of the martyrs, a depiction of 24 of them grouped with Bishop Mykola Charnetsky, along with separate ones for Sister Josaphata (Michaelina) Hordashevska, the Rev. Emilian Kovch and Bishop Theodore Romzha, were blessed by the pontiff and put on display at the head of the stage.

At the end of the liturgy the pope blessed the cornerstone of the soon-to-be-built Ukrainian Catholic University before leaving for lunch at the residence of Cardinal Husar and afterwards for Lviv Airport, where a Ukrainian airliner flew him back to Rome.

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