site.btaMay 26, 2002: Pope John Paul II Celebrates Mass in Plovdiv, 10,000 Attend

Bulgaria's exoneration from the death plot against Pope John Paul II was the most important message of the four-day official papal visit to the country which ended on May 26, 2002. The first visit by a head of the Roman Catholic Church to Bulgaria became a fact 21 years after Mehmet Ali Agca shot at Pope John Paul II in May 1981 and 19 years after then Communist leader Todor Zhivkov invited the latter to visit. After the 1989 democratic changes Bulgaria extended several invitations to the Pope, but they were all declined except for the last one - by an organizing committee of intellectuals, including then Foreign Minister Solomon Passy.

On May 23, 2002, at his meeting with President Georgi Parvanov, John Paul II described as insinuations the country's involvement in the assassination attempt. "I have never believed in the so called 'Bulgarian connection'," he told the President. Thus, 21 years later, he cleared Bulgaria's name from the stigma.

Pope John Paul II called Bulgaria a bridge between the East and West and a spiritual crossroad and wished that the efforts for social renovation find deserved reception and support from the European Community.

On May 26, over 10,000 people attended Mass served by Pope John Paul II at the central square in the city of Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria. Worshippers started flocking to the square at 5 a.m. The first queues formed a few hours later. It took security a couple of minutes to check each person entering the square through the checkpoints.

The first to arrive in the square were a group of children led by Catholic priests of the Sofia-Plovdiv diocese, who later received Holy Communion. Some 350 children of the municipality of Rakovski and the Sofia-Plovdiv diocese were introduced to this holy mystery by the Pope.

The stage from which Pope John Paul II said Mass was decorated with 324 chrysanthemums, which were planted afterwards in parks in downtown Plovdiv. Next to the stage stood the Vatican's coat of arms made of flowers. A wreath of white roses adorned a unique copy of the Miracle-Working Icon of Virgin Mary, a gift from Plovdiv to the Pope, which remained on the stage during Mass.

BTA’s English Services covered the visit extensively, and among the numerous news stories is this article on the Solemn Mass in Plovdiv on May 26:

Pope John Paul II Celebrates Solemn Mass in Bulgarian in Plovdiv

Sofia, May 26 (BTA) - Pope John Paul II beatified Kamen Vichev, Pavel Djidjov and Yosofat Shishkov, three Bulgarian Catholic Assumptionist priests who were executed by firing squad on November 12, 1952, by the communist authorities together with the blessed Bishop Evgeni Bossilkov, at an open-air solemn mass in Plovdiv's central square.   

The mass was attended by more than 10,000 worshippers from Bulgaria and abroad.

The Head of the Roman Catholic Church served the three-hour solemn mass on Most Holy Trinity Sunday together with the Cardinals accompanying him and bishops and Catholic priests from Bulgaria and abroad. 

Pope John Paul II was welcomed with psalms performed by the choir of the St Ludwig Cathedral in Plovdiv. 350 children dressed in white received their first communion from the Holy Father.

The Pope served mass from a special podium resembling the inside of a church of an area of 340 square meters. The Cardinals were on the first level of the podium and the second, on which there was pulpit, an altar and a gilded throne, was reserved for the Head of the Roman Catholic Church. 

The first and only replica of the miracle-working Mother of God icon sanctified at the Bachkovo Monastery which is the Plovdiv City Council's gift to the Pope, was also placed at the altar.

A wooden 3.5 m tall cross with the Vatican's emblem was mounted above the stage. There was also a sign reading "I Shall Follow Your Light".

Pope John Paul II was dressed in a special gown made by his Plovdiv hosts. According to tradition, the Pope leaves the clothes he has celebrated mass into his hosts as a souvenir of his visit. After the Holy Father's departure, the gown will be placed in a special glass-case at the Catholic Cathedral in Plovdiv.

The central square in Plovdiv was decorated with the state emblem of the Vatican made of flowers and coloured stones. The podium from which the Pope served Mass was decorated by 324 chrysanthemums.

Before going to the square on the Popemobile, the Pope visited the building of Plovdiv's City Council where he signed the Guests of Honour Book.

On his way, children welcomed the Holy Father chanting "We Want the Pope!"  

Addressing Pope John Paul II Bishop Georgi Yovchev of the Sofia-Plovdiv diocese described his visit as a historical moment at the turn of the millennium.

Plovdiv is an ancient city in which martyrs of the Christian faith have died in name of God in the first centuries after Christ's birth, Bishop Georgi Yovchev said.

Metropolitan Arseniy of Plovdiv welcomed the Holy Father with Apostle Paul's words to the Christians in the city of Corinth:

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 

He went on to say that the Holy Father is now standing on holy land in the ancient city of Plovdiv on which apostles have preached in the first century after Christ's birth and on which scores of martyrs of the Christian faith have spilled their blood.

Metropolitan Arseniy finished his address with the words that all Christians should remember that they should be of one heart and the soul to glorify God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. VINF/EK/ND