Pope Benedict XVI waves as he attends a family meeting in Valencia yesterday. Pope Benedict arrived on a lightning trip to Spain to glorify traditional family values in a country whose government has been sharply criticised by the Catholic Church for legalising gay marriage. - Reuters
VALENCIA, Spain (AP):
YELLOW AND white lollipops. Yellow and white ice cream. It's a papal party!
This Mediterranean port became a veritable sea of yellow and white as hundreds of thousands of Catholics family groups, couples, nuns and priests donned the colours of the Vatican and took up nearly every square inch of the city centre to witness the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
With the focus on family values, they came from all over Spain but also from distant corners of the world in search of a message of support from the pontiff.
The pope came to Valencia to wrap up a nine-day church congress on family issues.
Throughout the city, massive groups of people of all ages trooped about chanting slogans in favour of the pope. Most were wearing the distinctive
yellow and white backpacks issued to registered pilgrims on arrival or bought in stores for ¤20 (US$25) a pop.
Crowds packed the squares and park areas, squeezing together to share any spare spot of shade to
shelter from a punishing sun and stifling humidity.
Priests and nuns joined groups of youths sitting on the sidewalks tucking into takeaways and drinking refreshments.
Huge queues stretched around the city's ice cream and fruit juice stalls. Much on demand at one stall in Plaza de la Reina, just yards away from the cathedral, was flavour of the week, 'Crema Benedict XVI,' a mixture of cream and lemon the Vatican colours, of course at ¤1.70 (US$2.17) a tub, which went down a treat in the 35-degree Celsius heat but then laid heavy on the stomach.
Some, however, were not having so good a time.
HEAT WAVE
"This is horrible. The heat is killing us," said Catalina Toth, 58, who was leading a group of 45 Hungarians.
"We're trying to get to the beach to eat some paella (a famous Valencian rice dish) before the pope speaks again. Do you know where the beach is?"
Ecuadorean immigrant Diego Tuquerres, 19, who described himself as "a believer," was enjoying it all. Selling papal head scarves on the footpath at ¤2 (US$2.50) each, he had already made ¤50 (US$75) by midday and seen the pope, too, albeit on the giant screen set up in the middle of the square.
Down at the parkland area where the pope was to address pilgrims from a specially-built altar later in the day, people camped out with mattresses and tents listening to a blend of soft jazz interspersed with sacral music beating from the banks of speakers set up at nearly every corner.
When asked if he knew that Zapatero was not exactly considered a great friend of Catholics, he said:
"Yes, but he is good for immigrants and he wants peace with the Basques," he said, referring to the Socialist government's relatively liberal immigrant policies and its moves to negotiate an end to the violent campaign of the Basque independence group ETA.
