News In Brief

Pope tracing Columbus route to mark Christianity's spread

Following the route of Christopher Columbus, John Paul II embarks Wednesday on a 70-hour trip to Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico to commemorate the arrival of Christianity in the New World.

The focal point of the 10,540-mile journey is an address Thursday in Santo Domingo to the bishops of Latin America, an area of historic Catholic strength. The trip was planned to end Oct. 12, the day in 1492 when Columbus landed in the New World.