Israelis and Arabs united in mourning today for Pope John Paul, hailing him as a man of peace who sought to heal ancient wounds and forge a brighter future for the Middle East.
At the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, the faithful lit candles next to a portrait of the Pope.
Worshippers in Nazareth, the Galilee town where Jesus grew to manhood, filled the Basilica of the Annunciation.
Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called John Paul "a friend of the Jewish people" and said the world had lost "one of the most important leaders of our generation". He said the Pope had "worked to bring about historic reconciliation" between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jews, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the Jewish state in 1993.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described John Paul as "a great religious figure who devoted his life to defending the values of peace, freedom, justice and equality for all races and religions, as well as our people's right to independence".
Lebanon, which has more than a million Catholics, most of them Maronites, declared three days of official mourning. Flags flew at half-mast and broadcasters were asked to suspend normal programmes. "His death has brought agony and pain to the people of Lebanon," President Emile Lahoud said. "The Holy See has always stood by them, shared their sufferings during years of bitterness and inspired them with hopes of reuniting and of joining hands to build their nation."
In the mountains of northern Iraq, followers of the ancient Chaldean Christian sect, watched over by guards armed with AK-47 assault rifles, gathered for mass to mourn the Pope's death. "This news touches me greatly," said worshipper 26-year-old Wamibh Yuhana. He said one lesson Iraqis could learn from the Pope was that he had forgiven the Turkish gunman who shot him in St. Peter's Square in 1981.
At the age of 79 and already ailing, the Pope embarked on a gruelling seven-day millennium pilgrimage to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan in March 2000 that took him to the very roots of the Roman Catholic faith. It was an opportunity for him to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urge long-time foes to reach a "just peace" in the Middle East.
For Israelis, two images stand out: the Pope's pilgrimage to Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, and his prayer at Jerusalem's Western Wall for forgiveness for historic Christian mistreatment of Jews.
Jewish leaders had long praised the Polish Pope's repeated condemnation of anti-Semitism as a sin against God and man and his description of Jews as the Church's "dearly beloved elder brothers".
"Aside from John XXIII, there was no Pope more pro-Jewish than John Paul II in the modern era," said Israel Meir Lau, a former chief rabbi of Israel. During the Pope's reign, the Vatican and Israel exchanged ambassadors for the first time, marking a historical change in the Holy See's attitude towards the Jewish state.