Pope Benedict XVI in Stará Boleslav
Pope Benedict XVI came to Stará Boleslav few minutes before 9 am and entered the basilica of St. Wenceslaus. Before that he greeted all pilgrims and the Governor of the Central Bohemian Region David Rath, the local mayor and priests. In the basilica, he knelled before the Most Holy Sacrament and together with the local provost Vladimír Kellnar visited the place where St. Wenceslaus had been killed. In the basilica's crypt, he then venerated the saint's skull and admired the "Palladium of Bohemia".
Some twenty retired priests were gathered in the basilica during the Pope's visit, together with religious sisters who take care of them. The Holy Father greeted them cordially and imparted his apostolic blessing on them. After a thirty-minute-long visit Benedict XVI left the basilica and traveled to the place where the mass was to be held.
