Pope closes year of rosary by praying for peace at Pompeii shrine

Published: 2003-10-07

POMPEII, Italy (CNS) -- Closing a year dedicated to the rosary, Pope John Paul II came to a Marian sanctuary in Pompeii Oct. 7 and prayed for world peace with an estimated 30,000 pilgrims. The pope joined in reciting the five "mysteries of light" which he added to the rosary last year. Then, in a halting voice, he read a speech calling for a new movement of prayer and peacemaking to help heal the "conflicts, tensions and tragedies of every continent." The pope said the rosary is an ideal prayer for peace, with its simplicity and its ability to "calm the spirit," and is especially needed in a world "torn by winds of war and lined with blood in so many regions." The pope looked alert and content during the three-hour visit, and he managed to read almost all of his two-page talk, although he had to pause often between phrases. At the end, he asked people there to pray for him "today and always."

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