Pope John Paul II is in Vatican City tonight after as his bridge-building visit to Bulgaria ended with the beatification of three Roman Catholic priests executed for spying by the Communists half a century ago.
The move came as his spokesman vowed the pontiff would press on with planned summer trips abroad despite increasing concern over his failing health.
Thousands of faithful, waving Bulgarian and Vatican flags, turned out to witness the Pope leading mass on Alexander Battenberg Square, the central square in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city.
The three priests - Fr Kamen Vichev, Fr Pavel Dzhidzhov and Fr Iosafat Shishkov - were executed in November 1952 in a Sofia prison after being convicted of espionage and plotting to wage war against Bulgaria and the Soviet Union.
"In thinking of the three new Blessed, I also feel bound to honour the memory of the other faithful who were sons and daughters of the Orthodox Church and who suffered martyrdom under the same Communist regime," the Pope said.
He first beatified a Stalinist-era martyr, Bulgarian bishop Eugene Bosilkov, in 1998. Bishop Bosilkov was accused of crimes similar to those of the three priests and was executed at the same time.
Around 10,000 people - including worshippers from Greece, Macedonia, Poland and Romania - gathered to hear the Pontiff deliver mass.
The Orthodox Metropolitan Arsenizh of Plovdiv attended the mass and hailed the Pope's visit, his 96th during the 23-year papacy, and commented on the symbolism of the "union of the churches in Christ".
AFP