POPE John Paul II became the first ever pontiff to visit Brittany when he celebrated a lengthy Mass yesterday in the sunshine at the pilgrimage village of Saint Anne d'Auray, near Vannes.
On the second day of his French visit, the Pope was in noticeably better form than on Thursday, when the civil ceremonies and the constant rain had appeared to weary him.
Once again he seemed to be going against medical advice to do nothing too strenuous by presiding over a Mass which lasted nearly three hours. One French priest noted that he "comes to life during Mass or prayer", throwing off the rather absent air he sometimes has during civil and other public occasions.
In his homily to the estimated 120,000 faithful from all over western France, the Pope spoke on one of his favourite themes: the need for a new evangelism, a missionary crusade in the face of an uncaring and materialistic world.
He admitted that the Catholic faith was "faced with numerous problems". There was developing "a climate of indifference and individualism; some cannot accept others in their differences; others give up hope in the face of the evil in the world. Too often the Christian faith grows weak, noticeably in the younger generation, who really struggle to acquire their religious heritage."
However, he also saw "numerous signs of vitality" and more laymen pledged to work for the church.
He received his biggest cheer when he quoted the words of Saint Anne, the mother of Mary and Brittany's patron saint, when she first appeared to the Bretonspeaking peasant Yves Nicolazic, outside Auray in 1624. "Do not be afraid," he said, also speaking in Breton, "God wants me to be honoured here."
After saying Mass, the Pope, descended from the platform in a special lift, and then broke away from his security men to kiss small children and to bless a woman in a wheelchair.
The ceremony had an Irish touch, with two renderings of O'Carolan's Alleluia hymn, Praise the Lord, all the peoples. Four hours later the Pope was even more animated as he spoke to cheering young people and their families about the importance of family life. "Society must recognise the great value of the role of parents, who prepare the nation's future," he said.
Addressing parents directly, he went on: "You are faced with the question of human and moral education of the young, while all around you awareness of the spiritual grows weaker and many essential values are being questioned, such as the indissolubility of marriage or respect for life."
He also said divorced and remarried people could and must, as baptised Christians, participate in the church's life while accepting the church's "discipline regarding matrimony".
The director of communications for the Vannes diocese, Father Jean Noel Lanoe, told The Irish Times that the proportion of people attending Mass regularly in Brittany was something under 10 per cent, a little higher than the seven per cent for France as a whole.
The Pope flew back to Tours clearly refreshed by his meeting with the Breton faithful. The day's only significant casualty was Monsignor Monduzzi, an Italian Vatican official, who fell from his chair as the Mass ended and had to receive medical treatment.
. A French bishop, ousted by the Vatican for his liberal views, yesterday faulted the Pope's plan to honour a fifth century king in France, saying it would help the far right and Catholic traditionalists.
Bishop Jacques Gaillot, ousted from his diocese in Normandy last year and transferred to a non existent ancient diocese in the Sahara desert, also predicted that the Vatican would forfeit its role in dictating moral standards for Catholics.