It is 25 years since the visit of the most beloved Pope to Bucharest. The moment was historic not only for Romania

On May 7, 1999, Pope John Paul II arrived in Bucharest. The moment had a special historical significance, being the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 that a pope visited a predominantly Orthodox country.

“I come to your land as a pilgrim of peace, fraternity and understanding in the heart of nations, among peoples and among Christ’s disciples. During the different stages of my visit, I will meet the various ecclesial communities, as well as the Romanian people. I thank His Beatitude Teoctist Patriarch of Romania from the bottom of my heart, for the kind words. Our meeting and the moments of prayer we will share are eloquent evidence of evangelical fraternity.

Along the lines of the last Council and in the perspective of the great Jubilee, the gestures are the ones that significantly mark the path of Christian unity. I want pastors and believers to make, in turn, concrete gestures of dialogue and mutual reception, which will demonstrate that fraternal love in Christ is not an empty word but a component of Christian life and the Church”, said Pope John Paul II in a speech delivered at the Cotroceni Palace.

The Polish John Paul II, charismatic, unshakable in terms of morality, conservative and modern at the same time, who will be canonized on April 27 by Pope Francis, contributed to the collapse of communism, traveled to all continents, was adored and nicknamed ” God’s athlete”.

This pope, who reigned for almost 27 years, occupied an important place on the international scene: expressing his position on human rights in all corners of the world, through his contacts with young people, Karol Wojtyla, who was photographed skiing or in the pool, embodied an image of strength, modernity, vigor. Through him, the Catholic Church was on the front page of the international press, and Catholics felt more secure about themselves.

His life resembles a novel. Born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, southern Poland, orphaned by his mother at the age of 9 and raised by a father who was a career officer, Karol Wojtyla was marked by his childhood deprived of his mother’s presence and devoted himself the entire life of the Virgin Mary, the model of mother and wife. The cross will also occupy a central place in his spirit.

At the end of May 2019, after 20 years since the visit of Pope John Paul II, the current Pope Francis made, in turn, a historic visit to Romania.

Discover presents other historical meanings of May 7:

1824 – Ludwig van Beethoven conducts the premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Vienna.

1833 – German composer Johannes Brahms (d. April 3, 1897) was born.

1899 – Germany joined the secret protocol of September 30, 1896, extending the Alliance Treaty between Romania and Austria-Hungary.

1909 – Edwin Land, the inventor of the “Polaroid” photographic technique, was born (d. March 1, 1991).

1918 – The Bucharest Peace Treaty was concluded, between Romania, on the one hand, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, on the other, by which Romania had to cede Dobrogea, accept border rectifications in the Carpathians and end unfavorable economic conditions.

1937 – The poet George Topârceanu (“Happy and sad ballads”; “Bitter almonds”; “Unaddressed letters”) died (b. March 20, 1886).

1938 – Octavian Goga, poet, playwright, Romanian politician (“Ruga mamei”; “Reveder”; “Plugarii”, etc.) died (b. April 1, 1881).

1946 – The trial of Marshal Ion Antonescu and his main collaborators began in Bucharest.

1952 – Boxer Simion Cutov was born, who together with Petre Ochialbi, Petre Henţa was part of the Romanian “magic box” (d. 1993).

1955 – USSR signs the peace treaty with France and Great Britain.

1995 – Jacques Chirac won the presidential elections in France.

1998 – Mercedes-Benz acquires Chrysler for the sum of 40 billion dollars and forms DaimlerChrysler, the largest industrial merger in history.

2000 – Vladimir Putin was inaugurated as the President of Russia.

2007 – The American boxer Diego “Chico” Corrales, former world champion in the lightweight and super lightweight categories (b. 1977), passed away.

2007 – The writer, journalist, columnist and politician Octavian Paler (“The shadow of words”; “A lucky man”; “Conversations with Octavian Paler”) passed away (b. July 2, 1926).