Pope begins visit at the column of Mary in Munich

(AP Photo/Christof Stache)

REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski (GERMANY)
Pope Benedict XVI greets people in front of the St.Mary column at the Marienplatz square in Munich.
(AP Photo/Pawel Kopczynski, Pool)

The Column of Mary in Munich is the most popular symbol of Marian devotion in Bavaria. The Pope chose this monument, which represents the keeping of a promise for a miracle which saved the city from certain destruction, as the place of his first public act in his native land.

The prayer recited by the Pope at the Column of Maria in Marienplatz, shortly after his arrival, has a special symbolic value as the statue of the Virgin there depicts the country’s patroness.
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