Pope John Paul II circumnavigated the globe more than 30 times during his apostolic journeys. He broke records: 104 visits outside of Italy in almost 27 years, more than any head of state of his time. The Polish Pope traveled over 807,000 miles.
Traveling with him became almost a risky sport due to his demanding schedule, not to mention managing logistics, with sometimes last-minute changes of plans. This happened, for example, on one of his many visits to African countries.
ANTONIO PELAYO
Antena 3 Correspondent (Spain)
We were in the procession behind him. Suddenly, he stopped, and we saw him enter a cabin, a cabin, where there was a family. No one knew who that family was. Suddenly, he stopped, entered the cabin, picked up the children, kissed them, kissed their mother… He gave a significant donation. In other words, he liked to improvise, letting himself be carried away by the desire of his heart.
But how were Pope John Paul II's trips organized? The preparation took months and a lot of testing the waters, starting with diplomacy, which was not easy at all.
This was the case in Mexico in 1979. The Pope was advised not to travel. The situation with Catholics was delicate. Public Masses could not be celebrated, nor could priests wear cassocks.
The Pope wrote to the president at the time for permission, and he agreed, although without giving much respect to the Pope's presence.
VALENTINA ALAZRAKI
Televisa Correspondent (Mexico)
The Pope, well, finally arrived in Mexico, and of course, he was the only one wearing a cassock, as he later said, and besides, the President of the Republic greeted him by getting out of a helicopter, as if he had landed by chance at that moment in the hangar where the Pope had disembarked—which wasn't the presidential one, but rather, a public works one—and he just extended his hand and said: "Welcome, sir. I leave you in the hands of your people." And he disappeared. Then, of course, John Paul II looked around and said: "Maybe my collaborators were right."
If papal trips are known for anything, it is for the press conferences. It is the perfect moment for a face-to-face interview between the journalist and the Pope. They opened up with Pope John Paul II, but in a very spontaneous way.
ANTONIO PELAYO
Antena 3 Correspondent (Spain)
He always came to say hello. At first, there wasn't a press conference, but since during those greetings, each of us would ask him a question, sometimes a more personal, more political, or more theological question, well, it ended up being a press conference in bits and pieces.
But it all started with Valentina Alazraki. She was the first to interview this Pope. She did so, moreover, in a somewhat unusual way, hours before the Pope's visit to Mexico.
VALENTINA ALAZRAKI
Televisa Correspondent (Mexico)
On the eve of the trip, I had been asked to interview the Pope, and I told my boss, "Popes don't give interviews." And he just said, "Look, tell me how you solved your problem later." And he hung up on me. So, I had to invent something, which was to hide with a hat, the typical charro hat.
He arrived, and I somehow emerged from hiding with this hat, the microphone, and the Pope gave his first words to Mexico, a blessing.
Once on the plane, she did it again. On that flight, the Mexican woman was the only female journalist accompanying the Pope. She was only 22 years old.
-”What is your greatest hope for going to Mexico?”
-“My greatest hope?
….
I would say it's… Guadalupe.”
What many people do not know is that the Pope does not have a private plane. On the outbound flight to his destinations, he travels with an Italian airline, and on the return flight, with a local airline.
Maurizio worked at Alitalia, the company that previously handled papal flights. He accompanied Pope John Paul II on more than 60 trips.
ARCHIVE, 2020
MAURIZIO DICKMANN
Former Alitalia Employee
We often made intercontinental trips that lasted 12, 13 hours. We'd get there, and then it wouldn't end because we had other things to do, so we'd go to bed after 20 hours of work… But we didn't feel tired because the charisma of that man, his emotional involvement, his spiritual strength… you felt it inside.
That was what it was like to fly with Pope John Paul II: the man who left almost no ground unturned. From the largest countries to the smallest; with more Catholics, with fewer; in dictatorships, democracies, and in the midst of poverty.
CA
TR: GS
