Thousands in Latin America, the region with the greatest concentration of Roman Catholics in the world, prayed for Pope John Paul II on Friday and recalled how he drew attention toward the region that he called "the continent of hope" during his 26-year papacy.
At the basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint, Catholic faithful gathered to weep before a bronze statue of the pope, as he lay close to death in the Vatican.
"From everywhere in Mexico, [the pope] receives the backing and love from Mexicans," President Vicente Fox said.
PHOTO: AFP
John Paul II visited Mexico five times, most recently in 2002. His first visit, in 1979, won normal relations with Mexico, which had broken diplomatic relations with the Vatican in the early 20th century.
Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera departed for Rome late on Friday "to accompany the Holy Father in what is left of his life and to participate in subsequent events," he said.
Mexico may be remembered as the country that jumped the gun in commemorating the pontiff's death. Senate President Diego Fernandez de Cevallos called for a moment of silence for the pope late on Thursday, while he still clung to life.
"To err is human," he said.
Latin America is home to nearly half of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, prompting speculation whether the next pope could be Latino.
"There are Latino bishops and archbishops who could take on the task of leading the church," Polish Cardinal Jozep Glemp said while visiting Buenos Aires.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos remembered John Paul II's 1978 intervention to prevent war between Chile and neighboring Argentina, two countries then under tottering military dictatorships.
"He was decisive ... in helping common sense prevail between our peoples," Lagos said.
The pope began a 1987 visit exactly 17 years ago, on April 1, when Augusto Pinochet was in power, giving Chileans an excuse to take to the streets and protest the dictatorship.
Across the Andes, thousands of Argentines jammed churches to pray for the pope.
Bishops in Brazil, with the largest Roman Catholic population in the world, held services for the ailing pope "all across the country," national council of bishops spokesman Odilo Pedro Scherer said.
Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino urged Cubans to pray for the pope late on Friday in an unusual broadcast carried on state television, which had avoided the topic of the pope's failing health for most of the day.
A sizeable minority of Cubans are practicing Catholics and John Paul II made a historic visit to communist Cuba in January 1998 in one of his last Latin American tours.
"His visit is unforgettable. It impacted us all, including those of us who were used to seeing him in Rome ... He really established contact with our people," Ortega said.
Colombia remembered the pope for his efforts in favor of peace in the country, which has suffered 40 years of civil war. President Alvaro Uribe recalled the pope as a "spiritual power" in Colombia.
In Lima, Peru's Roman Catholics remembered John Paul II for naming the first cardinal attached to the ultraconservative Opus Dei movement, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani. Peru was a birthplace of a leftist Roman Catholic movement known as liberation theory.
The pontiff was also remembered in Central America, site of devastating civil wars in the 1980s.
Salvadorans yesterday prepared for the 25th anniversary of the death of archbishop Oscar Romero, whose death at the hands of a right-wing death squad helped accelerate the region's rush toward civil war.
Nicaraguan Roman Catholics, some of the most battered during their country's US-backed civil war, prayed for a swift end to the pope's suffering.
"Everyone comes to an end," said Jaime Chamorro, editor of the La Prensa daily.
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