'No one will cry ... on the trip home'

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Chilly September winds carried a sigh of relief and then eventual joy as the announcement was made to 5,000 people waiting on the banks of the Mackenzie River that the plane carrying Pope John Paul II landed safely in Fort Simpson.

The moment was made more special for Jimmy Dzeylion, who was in the tiny village located 1,400 km northwest of Edmonton when fog prevented the Pope's last visit in 1984.

The disappointment then was overwhelming, Dzeylion explained through a Cree interpreter. "It was like being scolded as a child, but the hurt inside was worst," said the 69-year-old. Silently, Dzeylion and four friends wept as they made the long journey back to their home in Wallston Lake, Saskatchewan.

When the Pope fulfilled the promise made in 1984 to return, thousands of Indian, Inuit, Metis and Dene followers couldn't have been more happy.

Though saddened, Dzeylion says his faith was never shaken, adding he teaches the Roman Catholic religion in a church on his reserve, where he is considered a respected Elder by its 700 residents. Although he is Chipewyan by descent, Dzeylion translates the bible in both the Chip and Cree Native languages and gives communion to others on the reserve.

A letter was sent to him in 1982 from the Vatican, signed by the Pope, asking Dzeylion to continue his work with the church and spread the word of God to the young and elderly. He doesn't know how the Vatican found out, but thinks a local priest or bishop must have passed along a message about his work. Dzeylion was honored, however, because "it was like receiving something from the Creator," he explained, making gestures with his hands to define his point.

It took Dzeylion four days to reach Fort Simpson, travelling first by plane over a distance of 640 air miles and then by bus for another 1,700. To comfort friends who feared the plane ride, he joked with one of them asking "What will you do when you go to heaven?" He doesn't know if it worked, but about 100 people from his reserve made the trip with him.

They came to sing Cree and Chipewyan hymns at the Papal visit. They patiently waited two days to see the Pope for only a few short hours. But, this time no one will cry on the long trip home.