Pope slips out of the Vatican for sneak trip
By James Vicini and Adam EntousVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict slipped out of the Vatican unannounced for the first time in his papacy on Saturday, travelling to the same spot his predecessor did exactly 27 years ago to pray after being elected.
The Pontiff visited the shrine to the Virgin Mary at Mentorella, in the mountains about 55 km (34 miles) northeast of Vatican City, where Pope John Paul II went on Oct. 29, 1978.
John Paul had said that travelling to Mentorella, in what was the first the many pilgrimages outside Rome of his pontificate, had helped him to pray.
John Paul's trip, however, was an official visit that drew thousands of pilgrims. There were only dozens present for Benedict's surprise visit.
The Vatican did not offer many details, saying only that the German Pope had made a "private pilgrimage" to Mentorella and celebrated a mass in honour of the Madonna. The statement was released only after he returned to the Vatican.
"Nobody expected him to come. It was completely spontaneous," said a man answering the telephone at Mentorella, who described himself as a "pilgrim" and declined to be named.
There may be another connection between Benedict, elected in April, and Mentorella.
On the sanctuary's Web site, www.mentorella.it, it says that St. Benedict lived in an adjacent cave for two years at some point during the sixth century. For many centuries, the Mentorella shrine was also run by the Benedictine order.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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