THE Pope is this week celebrating his 25th anniversary as head of the Catholic Church.

So today we look back at his great visit to York 21 years ago, when tens of thousands of people descended on Knavesmire to honour the pontiff.

On a sweltering hot day, May 31, 1982, Pope John Paul II arrived at the racecourse to be welcomed by a sea of pilgrims.

Four hundred and fifty trains arrived at York station to deliver more than 26,000 pilgrims and a 100-strong team of British Transport Police was drafted into the city to deal with the congestion.

The Pope moved among thousands of pilgrims in the baking hot sunshine, on board his six-wheel drive Leyland T 45 "Popemobile".

Two vehicles had been specially built for the Pope's visit to Britain.

At the time, the papal visit was the biggest outdoor event York had seen in years.

The request to use Knavesmire was made by the Reverend Francis Gresham, of the Catholic chaplaincy at York University, who was the regional organiser for the Pope's visit.

The Pope is the fourth-longest serving pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church and he will become the third-longest serving if he lives until next March.

The 83-year-old Pontiff is marking his Silver Jubilee with four days of celebrations.

He has travelled more than 774,200 miles on trips in Italy and abroad, equivalent to nearly 30 times the circumference of the earth and more than three times the distance between the earth and the moon.

Updated: 10:02 Friday, October 17, 2003