Monday, July 14, 2008

Pope Benedict in Sydney, Australia: "Joan's Rome"

BENEDICT XVI ARRIVES SYDNEY AT START OF NINTH INTERNATIONAL TRIP
Pope Benedict arrived Sydney, Australia Sunday afternoon following a 20-hour flight from Rome, with a re-fueling stop in Darwin where he deplaned and briefly walked around. During the flight, the Pope sent telegrams – as is customary - to the heads of State of the 16 countries that the papal plane flew over, including l’Albania, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The 10,000 mile flight was the start of the Pope’s ninth foreign apostolic trip. He sat in the first class section of the Boeing 777 which was furnished with an armchair, bed, writing area, kneeler and crucifix. He was accompanied by 27 Members of the Papal entourage, including the secretary of State, master of liturgical ceremonies, Swiss Guards and gendarmes, his private physician and private valet, and personnel from Vatican Radio and Vatican television, including the head of CTV, Vatican Radio and the press office. Also on board were 43 accredited members of the media and 2 assistants. The 73 passengers flew in a Boeing which typically accommodates between 283 and 368 passengers in a three-class configuration.

An hour into the flight, Pope Benedict went to the section of the plane with... (Continued here at Joan's Rome)

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