Pope Benedict XVI today celebrated Mass for an estimated 270,000 people in a rain-soaked Warsaw square where his predecessor, John Paul II, inspired Poland’s Solidarity movement against communist rule in a historic 1979 visit.

Pope Benedict XVI today celebrated Mass for an estimated 270,000 people in a rain-drenched Warsaw square where his predecessor, John Paul II, inspired Poland’s Solidarity movement against communist rule in a historic 1979 visit.

Thousands pressed into a Warsaw square today for a Mass by Pope Benedict XVI at the spot where his predecessor, John Paul II, inspired Poland’s Solidarity movement against communist rule in 1979.

WITH a huge portrait of Pope John Paul II as a backdrop, about 200,000 people turned out for a farewell Mass for the Polish-born pontiff, gathering yesterday at the square where he once rallied the nation to fight communist rule.