Abstract
This video shows the arrival of the Pope John Paul II in Ireland on the 29 September 1979. This video clip is an extract from the live broadcast of this event by the national television channel RTE2. It seems clear that the purpose of such wide broadcast was to permit to the whole Ireland to follow what can most likely be considered as the religious event of the century for the Irish Catholics. The enthusiasm of speakers transpires through the screen, and it most surely represents that of the Irish people. What is stunning in this video is the huge dispositive set up for welcoming the Papal sovereign. First, the Dublin airport is incredibly crowded.
Furthermore, it is astonishing to see that the whole Irish state apparatus is there to welcome the Pope; the speaker talks about "the President (Patrick Hillery), the Government, the Council of State, and the Hierarchy", all of them religiously waiting for the Pope. The tremendous popular support of the Pope will however not be limited to this welcome; no less than 1 million people, almost 1 out 3 Irish citizens, will go listening to the Pope later that day in Phoenix Park, showing the extraordinary faith of the Irish people. How to explain such incredible popular faith?
