1983: Visit from Pope John Paul II

The visit of Pope John Paul II took place from September 10-13, 1983 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the relief army’s victory under John III Sobieski in the Battle of Vienna (September 12, 1683) as well as in honour of the Austrian Catholic Day. Apart from a visit to Mariazell, Vienna was the setting for all other events. The European Vespers service at Heldenplatz was dedicated to the propagation of Christian roots and identity in Europe in the context of an agenda to re-Christianise and re-evangelise the continent. John Paul II presented himself as the “Polish Pope”, the leading figure of a Catholic Polish identity that sought to resist the KP-regime (Communists). Criticism at the time was therefore directed against staging Vienna once again as the bulwark against an “enemy from the East” – in continuity with the historic commemoration of the city in the “defence against the Turks”. Particular attention was paid to the Pope’s visit as a “Central European event” that cut across political blocs: followers from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary were present in large numbers for all of the appearances of John Paul II in Vienna and Mariazell.