CROATIAN CITIZENS WARMLY WELCOME POPE JOHN PAUL II

( Editorial: --> 5129 ) ZAGREB, Oct 2 (Hina) - Tens of thousands of citizens lined the streets from Zagreb's airport to the centre of the Croatian capital to welcome Pope John Paul II early Friday evening. The citizens had waited for hours to greet the Pontiff on his second visit to Croatia. He left Zagreb's Pleso airport just after 6.40pm and along the way, the Holy Father blessed the crowd who welcomed him loudly and waved Croatian and Papal flags in greeting. Because of the closeness of the airport to the battle fields four years ago when Pope John Paul II visited Croatia, the people then could not gather in such large numbers at the airport. Among the faithful who had gathered from the early afternoon hours to greet the head of the Catholic Church was Mirko, a pensioner, who said that he had come to exchange the old Croatian Catholic greeting "Thanks be to God and Holy Mary!". A convoy of vehicles accompanying the Popemobile continued on its way from the town of Velika Gorica, near the airport, through to the southern Zagreb suburbs. Upon entering Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb) the vehicles halted briefly while Pope John Paul II, from the Popemobile, consecrated a recently erected monument to Zagreb's late archbishop Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac. The Pope also received a greeting from members of Croatia's Polish Cultural Society Nikola Kopernik, who carried a sign saying "Poles Greet the Pope". The convoy then continued through the centre of Zagreb, where thousands of people gathered along the streets and in the main Ban Jelacic Square. Waiting in Mihanovic street was pensioner Ante, an exiled resident of the Bosnian Serb-occcupied town of Derventa, who said John Paul II's visit was one of the most important events of his life. As well as welcoming the Pope, he said he would pray for the return of Croat refugees to Bosnia's northern Bosanska Posavina region. The papal convoy arrived in front of Zagreb Cathedral at 7.20pm where he was awaited by a crowd of thousands. (Hina) sp jn /mbr 021942 MET oct 98