Pope wraps up trip to Austria

Several thousand faithful packed a square in central Vienna today as Pope Benedict XVI wrapped up a three-day visit to Austria with a Mass and a stop at a medieval abbey outside the capital.

Driving rain that has drenched pilgrims and Benedict’s entourage since his arrival on Friday fell intermittently yet again, forcing believers to huddle beneath umbrellas as they gathered outside Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral for a glimpse of the German-born pontiff.

Cheers went up from the crowd and robed children waved yellow ribbons as the pope, clad in lime-green vestments, entered the cathedral.

After presiding over Mass and delivering his weekly Angelus prayer in the square, Benedict was to tour the Heiligenkreuz abbey on the outskirts of Vienna.

The abbey has unusual significance for the Vatican: It was due to have hosted the late Pope John Paul II and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, before Orthodox bishops scuttled what would have been a historic meeting.

The Vatican has been seeking closer ties with the Orthodox church, which accuses the Catholic church of improperly seeking converts in traditional Orthodox lands.

Benedict’s trip has focused on reaching out to disillusioned Catholics, not just in Austria but across Europe.

Today, he pressed believers to cling to their faith. “We need a relationship that sustains us, that gives direction and content to our lives,” he said.

In his homily, the pope also urged the faithful to set aside Sundays to devote themselves to Christ’s teachings and “create oases of selfless love in a world where so often only power and wealth seem to count for anything.”

His message echoed one he delivered yesterday to 33,000 rain-soaked pilgrims in Mariazell, a famous shrine to the Virgin Mary celebrating the 850th anniversary of its founding.

The Rev Federico Lombardi, chief Vatican spokesman, said a copy of the statue of the Madonna of Mariazell that was touched by the pope was being sent to the bishop of Shanghai – a clear gesture by Benedict to Chinese Catholics.

Austrian media reported that two elderly pilgrims, men aged 83 and 80, died of heart attacks yesterday, and the pope said he was praying for them.

Although the Mariazell event was well-attended, turnout at many of the pope’s other public appearances has been somewhat muted.

Thousands of Austrian Catholics have formally renounced their church affiliations in recent years, citing disgust with clergy sex scandals and displeasure over a highly unpopular government-imposed church tax.

We Are Church, an influential Catholic lay organisation pressing the Vatican to abolish the celibacy requirement for priests and let them marry, said it put up two large posters outside the Vienna cathedral today so disgruntled believers could write messages to Benedict.

“He wouldn’t agree to meet with us, so this is our way of communicating with him,” said the group’s chairman, Hans Peter Hurka.