Eight hundred Poles boarded a special train Friday night for a 26-hour trip across Europe, bound for Rome and the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II.They were joining tens of thousands of Poles who are massing in Rome for Sunday's beatification, a major celebration for a nation overjoyed at seeing the Polish-born pontiff moved closer to sainthood.

By Saturday morning, the pilgrim train was cruising through the Austrian countryside. And as picturesque farmhouses, creeks and mountains sped past, priests celebrated Mass in the restaurant car, setting up a makeshift altar on a dining table bedecked with a white cloth and a four-inch (10-centimeter) crucifix. The faithful followed along in the aisles, some kneeling, hands clasped in prayer, and priests pushed their way down packed, narrow aisles to give them Communion. ...