APOSTOLIC VISIT TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC, Sept 26-28, 2009

Attendance of Pope' Czech masses to exceed expectations-Maly


Prague - The attendance of the two masses that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate during his forthcoming visit to the Czech Republic is likely to exceed the expectations, Czech Catholic Bishop Vaclav Maly told journalists.

Benedict XVI will visit the Czech Republic on September 26-28.
His mass in Brno-Turany airport will be attended by 100,000 people and some 1000 clergy, Maly said.

Some 50,000 church-goers and 700 clergy will attend the mass that the Pope will say in Stara Boleslav on Sunday, September 28. Believers from Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Austria will be among participants, Maly said.

"I personally am surprised and I would say that it would be an unexpectedly big number of people," Maly said.

He said that more people would attend Benedict XVI's masses in the Czech Republic than during his visit to Austria.

However, Maly admitted that if it took place in Slovakia the Pope's visit would attract even greater number of church-goers as Slovakia is a religious society.

"No comparison with Poland is possible because Poland is still a country in which the majority of the population declare themselves Catholic Church goers," Maly said.

The Pope will mention the topic of the fall of totalitarian regimes in central and eastern Europe 20 years ago in his masses and he will also focus on the relation of freedom and faith.

The topic of faith, hope and love will be the main spiritual topics of the Pope's masses and they will be emphasised in the masses, Maly said.

Benedict XVI's forthcoming visit is his first visit to the Czech Republic in the capacity as the Pope and the first papal visit to the country after 12 years.

The last papal visit was paid to the Czech Republic by Benedict's predecessor, John Pope II, in 1997.