Pope John Paul II is to touch down at 6 p.m. on board a special plane of Alitalia at Sofia airport, where he will be welcomed by Foreign Minister Passy (www.popeinbulgaria.com). He will be accompanied by 34-member official delegation. At the airport two children will present the Holy Father with a basket filled with Bulgarian soil, that he will kiss. The two children – Mitko and Katrin - are members of Rosna kitka ensemble with the Children’s Palace and were informed of the assigned task no earlier than yesterday. The soil in the basket is from different regions of Bulgaria. Other two children will have the honour to give flowers to the Holy Father. All children will be dressed in traditional costumes from Northern Bulgaria. The other members from the ensemble will participate in the concert at the square. In a separate development a memorial of three bid moraines from the mountain of Vitosha was erected on Freedom Square, to be named hereafter Pope John Paul II. A script reading “On May 23 His Holiness Pope John Paul II blessed the sacred Bulgarian soil” is engraved on the middle stone. Prof. Todor Vardzhiev is author of the composition.

Several minutes after arriving at the airport the Pope will depart to the St. Alexander Nevsky Square along Tsarigradsko highway that is lined with flags of Bulgaria and the Vatican. The official welcoming ceremony is scheduled to start at 6.30 p.m. The Pope, to arrive from Rakovska Street on the popemobile, will be met by President Parvanov. A representative guards unit and a brass orchestra will be lined up on the square. Following the national anthems, President Parvanov and the Head of the Roman-Catholic Church will deliver speeches. On Friday the Pope will meet with President Parvanov.