The Swiss Bishops Conference has welcomed the beatification on Sunday in Rome of Pope John Paul II.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The late pope “to this day still acts as a model for good and help for mankind in Switzerland equally,” the bishops said in a statement.
Pope John Paul II first visited Switzerland in 1984 in a visit which he described as “a pilgrimage to the heart of God’s people living in the most beautiful mountains in Europe and in the northern Alps,” the bishops said.
The late pope praised Switzerland for its commitment to freedom, tolerance, neutrality and peace and for its cooperation with the Holy See in humanitarian works during the Second World War, the bishops said.
Pope John Paul II’s last visit to Switzerland was in 2004 when he celebrated a mass for 70,000 Catholics in Bern.
Switzerland was represented at the beatification ceremony by its ambassador to the Holy See, Jean-François Kammer.
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
Rome prepares giant party for late pope
This content was published on
Rome is expecting one to two million visitors on May 1 – most of them there for the ceremony, which is the first step in the Polish pope’s road to sainthood. Hundreds of mainly young people from Switzerland are attending. “A beatification is a party, a day of joy. It’s also a day to proclaim…
This content was published on
Werner Arber, an Aargau-born microbiologist and geneticist who shared the 1978 Nobel Prize for Medicine, is the first Protestant to hold the position. The 81-year-old heads a body that is meant to keep the pope up to date with the latest scientific developments. Historically, however, the Catholic Church has had a strained relationship with science,…
This content was published on
It seems a turnaround from the pontiff’s stance on the issue in March 2009 during a visit to Africa, when he went as far as saying that condoms “aggravated” the Aids problem. “In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way…
This content was published on
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…
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.