Pope Leaves His Beloved Homeland Poles At Mass Beg Him To Stay As Pontiff Ends Busy 11-Day Trip

Pope John Paul II bade farewell to his “beloved native land” Tuesday and pledged to give “serious attention” to coming back, as he ended an 11-day pilgrimage that many feared would be his last trip home.

“Moments of farewell are always difficult,” the pope said before boarding a jet that took him back to Rome, wrapping up a trip that mixed papal duties with personal visits to places like his favorite mountain retreat and his parents grave.

Flanked by President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Cardinal Jozef Glemp, the country’s Roman Catholic primate, the pope said Poland will always have “a particular place” in his heart and prayers.

Poles did not want to let him go. “Stay with us! Stay with us!” a half-million people chanted at a Mass in the mountain town of Krosno earlier in the day. Church officials offered the pope a guidebook to choose sites for a possible visit next year.

While many worried about the health of the increasingly frail pontiff as he traveled across Poland, John Paul seemed to feel he held up well under the often grueling schedule.

At a private luncheon the open-air Mass in Krosno, Archbishop Jozef Michalik presented the 77-year-old pope with an illustrated directory of all the churches in the diocese, “so you can choose the places you would like to visit the next time.”

“I promise to give serious attention to this possibility,” the pope replied. “Throughout the pilgrimage, I have seen with optimism that I am capable of a new visit if God allows me.”

A military band played Poland’s traditional “Sto lat” - “May you live 100 years” - at the end of the farewell ceremony at Krakow airport, where hundreds gathered to see the pontiff off.

The pope stressed “fidelity to roots” in his farewell speech, a final plea for Poland to remember its Catholic heritage as it builds its post-communist future.

Kwasniewski called the pope’s visit “a great feast for all Poles,” and invited him to return.

“To this Poland of great opportunities but also difficulties, Your Holiness gave advice, guidance and, above all, a great deal of sympathy,” the president said. “Poland thanks you for that.”