Southwark

Following lunch at Buckingham Palace, Pope Saint John Paul made his way to St George’s Cathedral, Southwark. He was met by the waiting sick and led a service of anointing, spending considerable time speaking to those who had gathered.

John Paul said: “I want you to know how I have looked forward to this meeting with you, especially with those of you who are sick, disabled or infirm. I myself have had a share in suffering and I have known the physical weakness that comes with injury and sickness.” Author Peter Jennings was following the papal party for his book The Pope in Britain: “He’d a great empathy with sick people – he was very close to the people who were suffering, and you could see that just by the way he was walking around, stopping and talking to people and blessing people.”

Pope John Paul II at Southwark’s Cathedral

In his address in St George's Cathedral, Pope Saint John Paul II said: "I myself have had a share in suffering and I have known the physical weakness that comes with injury and sickness."