GLIWICE: 400,000 FAITHFUL PRAY FOR POPE'S HEALTH AT VESPERS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 1999 (VIS) - More than 400,000 faithful attended vespers this evening at the airport in Gliwice, an industrial city in the southern Poland province of Silesia, and prayed for the health of Pope John Paul, who had cancelled his appearance there due to a slight temperature. He spent the day resting in the archbishop's residence in Krakow, where he himself was archbishop for 14 years, until his election to the papacy in 1978.

At the request of the Pope, Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, conducted the evening prayer service. Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, a native of Poland and apostolic nuncio to that country, read the Holy Father's homily. A bouquet of flowers covered the papal throne.

In his homily, the Pope pointed out that the words of St. John the Evangelist - "God is love" - constitute the theme of his visit to Poland. "On the eve of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 this joyous and impressive news of a loving God needs to be spread anew throughout the world. God is a reality which is beyond our human capacity to fully understand. Since He is God, our reasoning is unable to grasp His infiniteness, nor can His limitlessness be confined within narrow human dimensions."

"We know and believe the love God has for us," the homily continues, quoting the first letter of John. "By grace, men and women are called to the Covenant with their Creator, to give a response of faith and love which no one else can give for them. This response has not been lacking here in Silesia. ... You faithfully stood by God, withstanding atheism and the secularization of the nation and the battle against religion. ... You never lacked willingness of spirit or generosity in working for the construction of new churches and places of worship. ... You also had at heart the well-being of the family, ... especially the right for your children and for young people to be freely educated in the faith." He asked them to remain faithful to this legacy.

"Dear brothers and sisters," concludes the Holy Father's homily, "I also wanted to let you know that I am aware of the difficulties, fears and hardships which you are now experiencing. ... I am aware of the dangers this state of affairs poses for many families and for the life of society as a whole. ... Today I address once again all my fellow countrymen in our homeland: Build the nation's future on love of God and love of man, on respect for God's commandments and on the life of grace!"

This evening, John Paul II appeared at a window of the archbishop's residence in Krakow and greeted the faithful who had gathered for a scheduled concert: "In front of us is the statue of Cardinal Sapieha. He is looking at us, listening to us and praying for us, so that we will walk on the right path. He is here (among us). ... I thank you very much for your presence and for this concert. Let us pray to Mary, Queen of Poland."

PV-POLAND;VESPERS; MAIDA; KOWALCZYK;...;GLIWICE ;VIS;19990616;Word: 520;