Prague/Stara Boleslav, Czech Republic - Pope Benedict XVI left the Czech Republic Monday, ending a three-day visit to the highly secular, post-Communist country with a missionary message that God remains relevant in a contemporary world. On his final day, the 82-year-old pontiff used the example of the fate of St Wenceslas, the Czech patron saint, to demonstrate the continuing relevance of faith in a secular society.
He celebrated mass before more than 50,000 people near Stara Boleslav, the pilgrimage site to Wenceslas.
"Wenceslas died as a martyr for Christ," Benedict said. "It is interesting to note that, by killing him, his brother Boleslav succeeded in taking possession of the throne of Prague, but the crown placed on the heads of his successors did not bear his name. Rather, it bears the name of Wenceslas."
In the year that marks two decades since the fall of atheist Communist regimes that stifled religion, the pope chose to visit the Central European country of 10.4 million where non-believers greatly outnumber churchgoers.
During his visit, the pontiff was warmly received by President Vaclav Klaus, who had previously expressed anti-Church positions.
Showing an unusual level of respect, the head of state attended mass in Stara Boleslav as well as in Brno, and welcomed and bid farewell to the pontiff at Prague's international airport.
The papal visit "strengthened relations between the Czech Republic and the Vatican," Klaus told reporters just before Benedict boarded his plane.
On his departure, the pope offered the president "sincere good wishes" for his nameday, held in the Czech Republic on Monday, as Vaclav is the Czech translation of Wenceslas.
Klaus, in return, addressed the pope in Italian. The two men exchanged smiles as they cordially shook hands.
However, the papal tour also highlighted a number of sore points between the Church and the state, including Prague's failure to ratify a bilateral treaty with the Vatican and to agree on a compensation scheme for church property seized by the Communists.
Analysts said that the papal visit's allure is likely to be short-lived. "The predecessor of this pope was here three times, and nothing has changed," said political scientist Jiri Pehe, who heads New York University's Prague branch.
"I think that the Czech political representation is stuck (on these matters)," he said. "There is no will. It will go on for many years."
After urging Czechs to rediscover their Christian traditions upon arrival on Saturday, the pope repeated his message of faith on Monday during mass in Stara Boleslav.
"Those who denied and continue to deny God, and in consequence have no respect for man, appear to have a comfortable life and to be materially successful," he said. "Yet one need only to scratch the surface to realize how sad and unfulfilled these people are."
Pilgrims attending Monday's mass said that the papal visit provided them with a sense of community in a country where distrust in organized religion is deeply ingrained.
"The crowd left me feeling that I am not alone in faith. Everyday people are persuading us that it is obsolete," said Klara Bednarova, 18, a high school student from Pardubice, a city 110 kilometres east of Prague.
Veronika Cizkova, 17, a secondary school student from the north-eastern city of Ostrava, was also optimistic:: "Perhaps people, those who do not believe, will change their mind and will not hold grudges against the church."
On his final day, Benedict first paid his respects in a local church to the relics of St Wenceslas, a 10th-century Czech duke who promoted Christianity in the Czech lands.
The pope then proceeded to the field near Stara Boleslav to celebrate mass honouring the Czech martyr, whose brother had him murdered in Stara Boleslav on September 28 in the year 935.
"He is a symbol of Czech statehood. A symbol of faith," said Jaroslava Havrankova, 58, a small grocery store owner, who limped to the field with the help of crutches despite having recently broken her leg.
"People were discouraging me from it after my leg surgery," she said. "Ordinary people can't understand what an experience it is to attend a mass celebrated by the Holy Father."
Many pilgrims pitched tents near the Stara Boleslav site the night before, while others drove to the field or took shuttle buses, which left Prague in the early morning.
The mood was festive as the pope made his way through the crowd towards a podium in his so-called popemobile. The joyous believers waved Vatican flags, as well as Czech, Slovak and German flags, and a chorus sang cheerfully.
After the mass, during which the pope spoke mainly in Italian, he addressed the youth, encouraging them, among other things, to start families. About 15,000 young believers turned out for the open-air mass, the organizers said.
According to estimates by Church organizers, some 3,000 foreigners, mostly neighbouring Poles, Slovaks and Germans, also took part.
Around 130,000 people attended an outdoor Sunday mass, the highlight of the papal visit, on an airfield in Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city.
