A FRAIL and tired looking Pope John Paul II spent his first day in France in the rain in the Loire valley and in the Vendee, the latter the most devout Catholic region in France.
He was greeted at a military airbase outside Tours by President Chirac and Mrs Chirac. After a 20 minute private meeting, Mr Chirac welcomed him in the name of a "secular and republican France", an ancient nation "proud of its roots" whose "sons and daughters recognise the message of the Gospel".
In reply, the Pope spoke of the economic crisis France and Europe were living through, and its effects on the poor, the sick and the marginalised.
His heart could not be at peace while these problems weighed heavily on such people, he said. He praised France's "solidarity and fraternity" with the developing world but called for a "new attitude" by the rich nations towards the poor nations.
In a reference to the controversy about his presiding at Sunday's anniversary of the baptism of Clovis, France's first Christian king, he praised the French nation for "rising above varying opinions and remembering the baptism of Clovis as part of the events that brought it into being".
Journalists travelling with the Pope from Rome said his form was better than during his visit two weeks ago to Hungary. However, at midday in Tours he already appeared tired, speaking without animation from his script, occasionally raising his head to catch his breath.
The merciless eye of the television cameras showed France how his left hand shook and how he held it to keep it under control during his address.
After lunching and resting, the Pope travelled by helicopter to the village of St Laurent sur Sevre in the Vendee, south east of Nantes, to pray before the tombs of two 18th century religious figures: Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort and Blessed Marie Louis de Jesus.
This "personal pilgrimage" was the main reason why an unwell Pope who will have an operation for appendicitis in a fortnight was so determined to come to France, said Vatican sources.
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort has been a particular inspiration for him; he has called his discovery of the saint's book on Mary during his time as a clandestine seminarian in Poland under the Nazis a "decisive turning point in my life". He believes the missionary saint, who walked thousands of miles through rural France preaching the Gospel, can be a model for the re evangelisation of Europe.
This determination was evident in the Pope's increased animation in St Laurent, particularly when he addressed a crowd which included many young people. He asked them to have courage as you trace your route through life" and to be inspired by the "courage of the martyrs of the past" to remain faithful to Christ and the church.
Ignoring his doctors wishes that he should avoid unnecessary effort, he then walked through the crowds and continued to reach out to people after he entered the village church to pray.
Today, the Pope will fly to St Anne d'Auray, a village in Brittany which became a shrine after the mother of Mary. Saint Anne, appeared to a local peasant in the 17th century.