Benedict on Polish pilgrimage following John Paul

WARSAW, May 25 (Reuters) Pope Benedict began a four-day pilgrimage to Poland today to retrace the steps of his predecessor John Paul and help banish lingering ghosts of Germany's wartime occupation.

Reflecting sensitivity about his German background, he said before leaving Rome that he would end his trip at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz as a Catholic paying homage to the victims.

Benedict, 79, will visit cities and shrines that were central to John Paul's life in Poland and his many visits as pope. A major challenge will be to overcome the unease some Poles feel that John Paul's successor comes from Germany.

A crowd of several thousand cheered and applauded at the airport as they heard him read the beginning of his speech in clear Polish with a slight German accent.

''I have come to follow in the footsteps of his life, from his boyhood until his departure for the memorable conclave of 1978,'' Benedict said of his ''beloved predecessor''.

Continuing in Italian, he stressed the trip was ''no mere sentimental journey...but rather a journey of faith, a part of the mission entrusted to me by the Lord''.

Tens of thousands lined the streets of Warsaw, waving yellow and white Vatican flags, waiting for the Pope to drive by while office workers gathered around television screens for a glimpse of the Pontiff and to hear him speak Polish.

POLISH-GERMAN COOPERATION Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz and other leading politicians greeted Benedict at Warsaw's Frederic Chopin airport under overcast skies.

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