Austria's church promoted the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Austria for months, hoping for a "fresh breeze" for the local church.But what should be a home game for the German-born pope is being met with increasing indifference by Austria's Catholics, according to several polls published in the run-up to Benedict XVI arrival.
According to one survey, 82 per cent said the pope's visit was of "little importance" to them.
The pontiff will stay three days in the alpine republic, visiting Vienna, then Mariazell, a pilgrimage sanctuary devoted to the Virgin Mary, and Heiligenkreuz, a Cistercian monastery close to the capital.
Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn is optimistic that the visit will have invigorating effects for Austria's church. It is not expected that the pope will touch on any controversial topics, as he did on previous travels.
Security will be tight nonetheless, with more than 2,000 police officers watching the pontiff's every step.
Progressive forces in the church are disappointed that a discussion of topics like celibacy or the role of women in the church is unlikely.
Frustration is also growing among representatives of other Christian faiths, who feel the pope is ignoring ecumenism and strengthening conservative tendencies like the adoration of the Virgin Mary.
Austria's Catholics remain sceptical of the big "Bene-Show" put on by the church.
In the traditionally strongly catholic country, the church, is losing members fast. A string of scandals over the past ten years drastically reduced the number of church members, 500,000 left the church between 1991 and 2006.
A cardinal being accused of abusing children, a sex scandal involving child porn at a seminary and the appointment of several controversial churchmen to high positions eroded faith and sped up the exodus from the church.
One survey indicated that while on paper 68 per cent of the population were catholic, only 15 per cent attended mass. Only 32 per cent said they had a good relationship with the church.
The divisions between the Catholic on the street and the church hierarchy are unlikely to be bridged by a pope viewed positively by only 48 per cent Catholics and 40 per cent of the population at large.
While his predecessor John Paul II still could motivate 500,000 of the country's faithful at his first visit to Austria in 1983, around one tenth of this turnout can be regarded a success this time round.
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