JOHN PAUL II PRAYS THE ANGELUS, CIRCLES SQUARE IN PAPAL JEEP

VATICAN CITY, MAR 24, 2002 (VIS) - Following today's Palm Sunday Mass, Pope John Paul prayed the Angelus with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people who had gathered in a sun-drenched St. Peter's Square on an unseasonably cold spring day. At the end of the Marian prayer, the Pope, still vested, surprised the faithful by getting into the white papal jeep and circling the square.

In remarks made before reciting the Angelus, the Holy Father referred to the Annunciation, saying that "we now turn to Mary Most Holy, who beneath the cross of her son, confirmed the 'fiat' she uttered at the announcement made by the angel. May she help us to faithfully follow Jesus, imitating the example of our many brothers and sisters who gave to the Gospel the supreme witness of blood. I am thinking in particular of the missionary martyrs being commemorated today in Italy as is traditional. May the Virgin obtain this coherence and this courage in a special way for you young people, called to undertake fundamental choices for your life."

Pope John Paul then greeted the pilgrims in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Italian.

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