Tatry: Slovak and Polish Presidents Open Exhibition on John Paul II's Visit

Vysoke Tatry, April 2 (TASR) - Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda on Wednesday opened an exhibition in Stary Smokovec (Presov region) dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit to the High Tatra mountains. "I'm very happy that the High Tatra mountains are commemorating this anniversary," said Pellegrini. Wednesday also marks exactly 20 years since the world said goodbye to Pope John Paul II forever. The Polish head of state confirmed that the pope was a man of the Tatra Mountains and also loved both countries and peoples. His two-day farewell visit to Slovakia is in the spirit of the legacy of this eminent Polish cleric, who became the first non-Italian pope for many centuries in 1978. Duda pointed out that the Holy Father's statement that 'these mountains don't divide our two nations but unite them' remains in the memory of both nations. Just as Duda visited the Tatra mountains three times during his ten-year presidential tenure, John Paul II also made three visits to Slovakia. During the second one in 1995, he also fulfilled his private wish and visited the Sliezsky dom mountain hotel in the Velicka Valley, while he saw the mountains from the air during a sightseeing flight in a helicopter. His visit to the Tatra mountains is commemorated by an exhibition in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Darina Zembova from the Tatra town office told TASR that the exhibition is composed of two parts. One consists of panels prepared and supplied by the Polish Embassy in Slovakia and maps the life, work and activities of the Polish pope. The second one is about John Paul II's visit to the region 30 years ago, prepared by the town of Vysoke Tatry in cooperation with High Tatra Regional Organisation. "It was such a very significant moment for us, and we're commemorating the jubilee this year with a series of events,’ said Zembova. am/df