The “Catholic Woodstock”

A look back at Pope John Paul II’s visit to Switzerland.

This content was published on June 5, 2004 - 12:34

1 minute

Pope John Paul II will be beatified this weekend in Rome, six years after his death. The ceremony marks the first step in the Polish pope’s road to sainthood. The papacy of Karol Jozef Wojtyla spanned 26 years, ending in 2005. In June 2004, youths from all over the world descended on Bern to celebrate their faith with the pope during his visit to the Swiss capital. swissinfo looks back on that event, referred to as the “Catholic Woodstock”. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Read more

More

Pope John Paul II dies

This content was published on Jun 11, 2004 The news of his death was immediately announced to thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square. “Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father,” Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the crowds. Bells tolled across Rome, and flags were lowered to half-mast across the capital. A Vatican statement said the Pontiff…

Read more: Pope John Paul II dies

External Content

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Discover our weekly must-reads for free!

Sign up to get our top stories straight into your mailbox.

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo.ch newsletter.

See all newsletters