PAPHOS is in the frantic throes of last-minute preparations for the visit tomorrow of Pope Benedict.The Pontiff is expected to land at Paphos airport at lunchtime and will be greeted by President of Demetris Christofias, his wife Elsi, Archbishop Chrysostomos, Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops.
Father Jim Kennedy, from the Catholic church in Paphos said: “We have been preparing for a long time and a lot of organisation and meetings have taken place. We have had to find out exactly what is required of the church and of us all here, to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day.”
Father Jim said it was good to remember that the Pope was coming to Paphos on a pilgrimage,
“It is a great honour for Paphos...it is probably a once in a lifetime chance to see him and it will uplift everybody’s souls,” he said.
The church of Ayia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa in Kato Paphos is where St Paul is believed to have been flogged.
Work has been carried out inside the church and yesterday a cleaning team arrived to ensure the ancient building was spick and span ready for the delivery of flowers today.
“We’re told there will be a red carpet for the Pope but we haven’t seen it yet,’ said Father Jim.
The Pontiff is expected to arrive at Ayia Kyriaki at approximately 3.15pm. He will walk down the pathway towards the front of the church, accompanied by Archbishop Chrysostomos and be able to kneel and pray inside if he wishes.
“We are providing, as required, something to refresh the Pope, such as water and other beverages and fruit. He will be able to have this in a room inside the church prior to coming out onto the platform at the back of the church, where all of the people will be gathered,” said father Jim. The service will start at about 3.30pm and finish an hour later.
The Latin Catholic Church has 1,000 passes to hand out and admitted that the area in which people will stand tomorrow has no shade.
But special yellow baseball caps, along with t-shirts will be available to commemorate the occasion and provide some relief from the sun.
The addresses will all be in English.
Parish administrator Owen Donahue said no glass or metal objects will be permitted, but plastic bottles of water will be. Security will be tight and those with passes are required to bring photographic ID such as a passport or ID card.
“Our advice to people is to use the municipal car park in the harbour and walk five minutes to the church as there really isn’t any where to park around the Church itself,” he said.
Father Jim said they have had to provide a comfort zone for the VIPs, by using the Anglican centre, the Windmill restaurant and their own hospice shop.
“We’ve been told to provide them with mainly water and fruit, as they will have to drive to Nicosia straight afterwards,” he said.
The priest will be at the hospice shop at 6am tomorrow armed with the lists of people who have been given passes, so if there is a problem they can get hold of him.
Extra security measures have been taken largely to manage a crowd of Orthodox Christian fanatics expected to fly in from Greece to protest the Pope's presence.
“I’m not concerned about this visit being marred,” said Father Jim. “When you have an event like the Holy Father coming, it’s like Obama or anybody who’s a world leader. There’s always the possibility that someone will want to make some kind of spectacle to get the media to pay attention to them, but I think the security people have taken very good measures. You can’t possibly cover every eventually, but I think they’ve done really well.”
Tomorrow, the old road from Paphos to Limassol will be closed during the Pope’s arrival, from 12 noon until 4 pm.
SIC: CM