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The pope began the homily by reminding the 200,000 people present that since 1652 Our Lady of Coromoto, patroness of Venezuela, "is with the Indians and whites, mestizos and blacks of the land of Venezuela in the faith." Recalling the difficult work of missionaries, he affirmed that "at all times, the close and maternal figure of Mary has been the best model to imitate and follow."
"If throughout the centuries," continued the Holy Father, "Marian shrines...have multiplied" all over the world, "it is precisely because for the Church, for us, the maternal witness of Mary about Christ is very important. With her care, she accompanies the spreading of the Gospel in all nations."
"Mary, Temple of the New Covenant and Dwelling of God among men, is here present!" exclaimed the pope. The inauguration of this National Shrine...is an invitation to revitalize the faith; to love the Church and humanity with the same love of Christ; to carry out the new evangelization along the lines of the Beatitudes."
The Holy Father concluded his homily by reciting a prayer to Our Lady of Coromoto in which he placed in her hands "the joys and hopes, the sorrows and sufferings of all your children," so that together they might walk toward the Father.
February 10, 1996
Web posted at: 1:00 p.m. EST (1800 GMT)
From Correspondent Harris Whitbeck
GUANARE, Venezuela (CNN) -- Thousands of pilgrims braved the mud left behind by a sudden downpour in Venezuela's normally dry plains to see Pope John Paul II Saturday. The pope came to Guanare to bless a church to Venezuela's patron saint, Our Lady of Coromoto.
The pope arrived in Venezuela Friday night for the final two days of a week-long Latin American trip. He left Central America after asking its leaders to ensure political stability.
"I exhort you to favor a climate of peaceful cohabitation, solidarity, and justice for all Guatemalans," he said to Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu.
The message during the Central American portion of this trip was dictated by the history of the region. Since his last visit in 1985, Central America has changed greatly -- but still faces many of the same social problems as before.
John Paul said on several occasions that Central America has passed from being the shooting gallery for the superpowers to a region in transition, but a region still lacking in social justice.
In El Salvador the Pope visited the tomb of assassinated archbishop Oscar Romero. And in Guatemala he was given a list of church workers who were killed for political reasons in the past decade.
Arriving in Venezuela Friday night, the Pope changed his tone and embarked on the second part of his mission -- to prevent further losses by the Catholics church to newer Protestant religious groups.
"I come with the confidence of finding a church committed to bring about a new evangelization," the pope said.
He set the tone for the call for renewed evangelization by stopping to bless prisoners at Caracas' notorious Catia prison. He told the prisoners they should return to the church.
"I know the difficulties you bear," he told the inmates from a highway overpass 300 yards away, "but even in the middle of these, you should remember ... that each one of us is loved always by God."
During his two-day visit to Venezuela, the Pope will meet with church workers and make a pilgrimage to the site where Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared, to bless the country. He will also celebrate mass on Sunday at the Caracas airport, where more than a million people are expected to attend.
GUANARE, Venezuela (Feb 10, 1996 3:53 p.m. EST) - Pope John Paul II said mass to an estimated 100,000 people in sweltering heat Saturday at a remote new shrine and called on Venezuelan leaders to work for the common good of their people.
On the penultimate day of his trip, the 75-year-old pope flew by plane and helicopter to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Coromoto to dedicate a new shrine to the Madonna who is said to have appeared to the chief of the Coromoto Indians in 1652.
The pope, wearing heavy vestments, said mass from under a billowing white canopy on the steps of the concrete cathedral, which took nearly two decades and $6 million to complete.
An occasional breeze broke the 95-degree heat and high humidity, and the pontiff occasionally wiped sweat beads from his forehead.
Although his homily at the shrine, some 270 miles southwest of Caracas, was mostly religious, the pope referred to some of the problems of this oil-rich South American nation.
In a prayer to the Madonna of Coromoto, who is revered throughout Latin America, the pontiff spoke of "the suffering of all your children ... above all the poor and most needy."
He prayed the Madonna would "enlighten those who hold in their hands the destiny of Venezuela."
Venezuela is mired in a deep economic crisis that has hurt mostly the poor, and the country's political and judicial authorities are often accused of corruption.
The pontiff was expected to talk about Venezuela's social and economic problems in more detail when he returned to address intellectual and community leaders in Caracas in the evening.
The pilgrims, some of whom travelled from neighboring countries, filled a field in front of the grey concrete cathedral, rising majestically over Venezuela's central plains.
They cheered wildly and gasped as the pope toured the crowd in an open car. Many wiped tears from their eyes.
"His skin is like porcelain," said Sandra Sanchez, a housewife from Valencia, 170 miles from Guanare.
But, perhaps on account of an unexpected downpour Friday night, fewer pilgrims congregated than the 700,000 which organizers had expected.
Sonia Astrid, 37, from Bogota, Colombia, came to see the pope in the hope he would bless her two-month-old baby. "For me it was only a small sacrifice, to travel so far to have the pope look at my baby," she said.
After an all-night vigil with prayers, music and dancing, animated curates still exhorted people to shout "Long live the pope!" up to shortly before his arrival. The heat took its toll during the service as water supplies began to run short.
The pope arrived in Venezuela Friday afternoon on the last leg of his 69th foreign trip which also took him to Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. He returns to Rome Sunday.>
CARACAS, Venezuela (Feb 10, 1996 09:35 a.m. EST) -- Pope John Paul II travels to Venezuela's hot, rural plains today to bless the Virgin of Coromoto cathedral and urge the faithful to reaffirm the importance of God in daily life.
On his two-day trip to Venezuela, the pontiff has sought to lift the spirits of Venezuelans grappling with economic and political malaise.
"I come with the confidence of finding a church committed to bring about a new evangelization," the 75-year-old pontiff said Friday evening.
Today, John Paul is scheduled to visit Guanare in the vast plains about 250 miles southwest of Caracas, to bless the new cathedral, which was under construction during the pope's last visit, in 1985. It is built on a site where the church believes the Virgin Mary appeared to an Indian chief 343 years ago.
The pontiff started out Friday in Guatemala, the base for his recent five-day pastoral tour of Central America, and later visited inmates at a jail outside Caracas.
Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera, a devout Catholic, met the pope at the airport, telling him: "In your brief stay, you will have the opportunity to see us as we are. ... You know that we have deep social problems. ... Your visit is an encouragement in our hard fight for the welfare of our people."
John Paul arrived Friday in Venezuela. The South American country has changed remarkably -- and not for the better -- during the past 10 to 15 years. The democracy that seemed stable was shaken by two coup attempts in 1992 and the impeachment of president Carlos Andres Perez a year later.
The oil-based economy went sour after the 1970s boom. The church in this traditionally Catholic nation of 22 million is grappling with how to stem the tide toward Protestant conversion -- an estimated 25 percent of all Venezuelans are now Protestants, up from about one percent 15 years ago.
"The church, as with all Venezuelan institutions, is being threatened," said the Rev. Jose Maria Erazo. "Venezuelans don't believe in anything or anyone any more. They don't believe in democracy. They don't believe in the legal system. They've lost their faith in institutions."
Physically frailer than the last time Venezuelans saw him, but mentally robust and as charismatic as ever, the pontiff delivered his remarks in clear and fluent Spanish. Calling himself the "pilgrim of evangelism," the pope was welcomed by affectionate crowds as his popemobile traveled from the airport to downtown Caracas.
His arrival, remarks and the drive were broadcast live by all four Caracas TV stations.
At Catia jail, an overcrowded and violent institution, he told inmates from a highway overpass 300 yards away: "I know the difficulties you bear, but even in the middle of these, you should remember ... that each one of us is loved always by God."
The inmates, many standing bare-chested behind iron bars in the tropical heat, waved T-shirts and small Venezuela flags in response.
On Sunday, the pope plans to say Mass at a Caracas airport. More than a million people are expected to attend. A multicolored carpet of 60,000 flowers -- roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, white lilies, hydrangeas, orchids -- was laid out before the alter for the open-air Mass.
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