POPE THANKS POLISH PILGRIMS FOR CHRISTMAS TREES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 6, 2000 (VIS) - The Pope today, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter's Square, welcomed pilgrims from Poland, including postal workers from several Polish towns and cities and a group from Zakopane who, he recalled "have brought your gifts, as you do every year. Among these are the beautiful Christmas trees, the fir trees from the Zakopane forests."

"I am delighted at your presence," John Paul II went on, "which constantly reminds me of Podhale, the beautiful mountains of Tatra and the rich traditions of mountain people. As I look at you many memories come to my mind, linked with various places that I once visited. Thank you for this encounter, I am grateful that you recall the Pope with such fidelity. May the Lord recompense you for your visit and for your music and song which is so moving."
"To all my fellow Poles here present," the Pope concluded, "I hope for divine blessings for the Advent period and for the Birth of the Lord which is nearing."

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