Clutching a braided palm as a symbol of hope and peace, Pope John Paul II led thousands of young people in a Palm Sunday service in St. Peter's Square, a celebration the Vatican described as an "antidote" to the fears of a world grappling with terror and war. Youths, some wearing colorful African robes and Eastern European folk dress, waved towering palm fronds and olive branches as they cheered the pontiff. Jesus "emerged himself in that crowd so fickle that in a few days it went from joyous enthusiasm to homicidal scorn," John Paul said. About 50,000 people filled the square, where Italian police officers stood guard and Vatican plainclothes security kept a close eye on the crowd.

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