JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - During the afternoon of March 24, Pope John Paul II continued his pilgrimage through the Holy Land by visiting three sites linked to the New Testament, and particularly to St. Peter.
First the Pontiff spent some time at prayer in a 20th-century church on the site of the multiplication of the loaves. The new church, built over the ruins of an early Christian sanctuary, is now served by Benedictine monks. Built in the Byzantine style, the church is decorated with unusually fine mosaics, including one 6th-century piece that depicts the Gospel story of how Jesus fed the crowd. One of the Benedictine monks showed the Pontiff an ancient key, dating back to the end of the 1st century, which was found in the ruins of what is believed to be St. Peter's home. Father Bargil Pixner, a renowned archeologist, remarked: «This is the key to the first Vatican!»
Next the Pope visited another church, entrusted to the Franciscans of the Holy Land, built on the spot where, after the Resurrection, Christ told Peter to «feed my sheep.» This church-- on the shore of the Sea of Galilee-- is dedicated to the primacy of Peter. For that reason, the Pope was particularly insistent on including it in his pilgrimage.
Finally, John Paul visited Capharnaum, where St. Peter lived as a fisherman before leaving that work behind to follow Christ. There he saw the ruins of another home where Peter once lived, and of the synagogue where Jesus once preached.
After these three visits, as night began to fall over Galilee, the Pope took another helicopter ride back to Jerusalem where he would spend the night.
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update