The Papacy: Ordeal of a Pilgrim

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THE PAPACY

Even his most ardent admirers grant that until now Pope Paul has been over shadowed by the memory of his predecessor. Shy, introspective and apparently indecisive at times, Paul seemed to lack the warmth and humanity that made John XXIII so universally loved.

But last week, on a precedent-breaking trip to the Holy Land, his impressive character emerged with clarity. Time and again the frail, 66-year-old Pontiff found himself engulfed by riotous mobs in an almost carnival mood that—in all innocence—threatened his life. It was a severe test. By meeting it with unfaltering patience and good humor, Paul VI appeared before the world as more than merely an intellectual pastor; he stood forth as a man of intense inward dedication, piety and exemplary courage.

Perhaps the Pope suspected that his simple "pious journey" to the shrines commemorating events in Jesus' life might turn into the kind of ordeal usually reserved for Hollywood stars and winning politicians. In preparation for the trip, he canceled most of his public appearances last week, spent three prayerful days in retreat. On the day of his flight to Jordan, he rose before dawn to meditate and celebrate Mass. By 7:30, he had said his farewell to the cardinals of the Roman Curia, and settled down in his black Mercedes limousine for the 16-mile trip to Leonardo da Vinci airport.

Convicts & Jets. Church bells tolled a greeting as the papal entourage passed along the streets of Rome. Despite the tight schedule that Vatican officials had toyed and fussed with all week, the Pope took the journey at his own pace. Once he stopped to greet a delegation of convicts from Regina Coeli prison, another time to bless a crowd gathered in the village of Acilia. At the windswept airport the Pope shook hands with a platform-full of dignitaries, including Italian President Antonio Segni and Premier Aldo Moro. Clearly enjoying his venture, the Pope blessed the crowd (tough old Socialist Pietro Nenni, Italy's Vice Premier, conspicuously refused to cross himself) before taking his seat in the Vatican-chartered Alitalia DC-8 jet.

It was a bitter, blustery, cloud-darkened afternoon when the papal plane arrived at Amman. Because fog and overcast had briefly threatened to divert the flight to Beirut, Jordan's King Hussein, a first-rate pilot, went to the control tower to supervise the landing. Guns barked out a 21-gun salute as the Pope stepped out of the plane; girls from a Roman Catholic school curtsied and offered him bouquets of flowers. In his deliberate, Sandhurst English, the tiny Moslem king welcomed the Pope to Jordan and hailed him as "a great leader in the service of humanity and the service of peace." Answering in English, Paul once more described his trip as "a humble pilgrimage to the sacred places made holy by the birth, the life, the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and by his glorious Resurrection. At each of these venerable shrines we shall pray for that peace which Jesus left to his disciples."