Pilgrims Carry Cross Through Sydney for Pope Visit
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SYDNEY — Pilgrims bore a giant wooden cross through the streets of Australia’s largest city yesterday, as thousands of faithful crowded around the procession, some lunging for a chance to touch the symbol of the Roman Catholic Church’s youth festival.
At a secluded retreat on Sydney’s outskirts, Pope Benedict XVI worked on overcoming jet lag from the more than 20-hour flight from the Vatican by strolling through bushland, holding prayers, and listening to a musicians play Schubert, Schumann, and Mozart.
The two events marked the final day before World Youth Day, a Catholic festival that draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The event is expected to take over Sydney for six days — the biggest since the Olympics eight years ago.
The 12.5-foot cross and a copy of a painting portraying Mary and Jesus landed by ferry at Sydney’s busy Circular Quay, completing a yearlong tour of more than 400 communities across Australia from the desert Outback to the tropical north.
Pope Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, gave the cross to the youth of the world in 1984 to be carried across continents as a symbol of Christ’s love for humanity.
