Paven ber ved Vestmuren

JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - On March 26, before celebrating Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Pope John Paul II visited the Western Wall of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem's Old City-- the most sacred site of Judaism.

After praying silently at the Wall, the Pope followed Jewish tradition by inserting a small paper, containing a prayer, into a crack in the old stone façade. That prayer was the same one that he had read in St. Peter's Basilica during the "Day of Pardon" ceremony a week earlier: a prayer for God's forgiveness for the sins committed by Christians against the people of Israel.

The Pontiff also joined Jewish leaders in the recitation of Psalm 122, King David's homage to Jerusalem. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," he read.

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update