SPAIN is paying tribute to Pope John Paul II in the form of a musical.

Two plays about his life – one on his upbringing under Nazi rule in Poland, and one on his 26 years as head of the Catholic Church – will be staged this summer in Madrid.

The plays are among 295 cultural events organised as part of World Youth Day which will be attended by Pope Benedict XVI, marking his third visit to Spain.

Event boss Carla Diez de Rivera explained: “The plays are in rehearsal, they are being fine tuned at the moment.”

And the Vatican has announced it expects more than a million young people to be at the event.

Already more than 336,000 youths from 173 countries have signed up to attend the gathering which was first thought up by John Paul II as a way to revive faith among young Roman Catholics across the globe.

Subscribe to the Olive Press

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.