And the Pope touched down on the Australian soil at 3 PM Sydney Time (1 PM Manila Time)— a reminiscent of John Paul II’s arrival in Manila during the 1995 WYD as hundreds of people flock on the airpost to catch a glimpse of the Pontiff. POPE Benedict XVI has arrived in Australia ahead of World Youth Day celebrations. The Pope’s aircraft landed at Richmond RAAF Base, in Sydney’s northwest, to cries of “the plane, the plane!” from onlookers. More than a thousand people gathered outside the base in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Pope as he arrived, while soldiers patrolled the fence. A plane believed to have been carrying Prime Minister Kevin Rudd touched down at about 1.45pm (AEST), exciting the crowd who thought it was the pontiff’s plane. The Pope later landed at about 3pm (AEST), after his plane circled the airstrip. Traffic on the road adjacent to the base slowed to a crawl as drivers tried to see the plane land. The Alitalia plane, bearing the Australian flag and the Papal flag, taxied to the point where the pontiff was met by the official welcoming party including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell.

Wearing his customary white robes and red shoes, Pope Benedict alighted from the plane shortly after 3.15pm to the sound of applause. He was welcomed with a handshake from Mr Rudd before moving along the line of dignitaries, including NSW Premier Morris Iemma. Dr Pell kissed the Pope’s hand and introduced him to other church leaders, some of whom genuflected and also kissed his hand. Earlier today the Pope revealed he intended to apologise for sexual abuse within the church on his first visit to Australia. “We have to consider what was insufficient in our behaviour and how we can prevent, heal, reconcile. This is the essential content of what we will say as we apologise,” he said while flying to Sydney.

More than a thousand people flocked to see the Pope arrive in Australia ? but few, if any, actually caught a glimpse of the pontiff. A group of teenage girls from western Sydney resorted to asking film crews if they could look at news footage because they had given up on trying to see the Pope in person. After the low-key welcome, the Pope was briefly ushered inside a building at the RAAF base, flanked by Mr Rudd, for what commentators described as a “meet and greet” session with members of the clergy. His motorcade, including ambulances, buses and police cars, left the base just before 3.30pm, bound for an Opus Dei-run study centre at Kenthurst. He will spend four nights at the tightly-guarded centre, where he is expected to play the piano and relax before officially joining the WYD program in a spectacular “Boat-a-cade” on Sydney Harbour on Thursday.

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