MEXICAN INDIAN WOMEN PERFORM SPIRITUAL CLEANSING CEREMONY ON POPE JOHN PAUL II DURING MASS, 2002-08-01 (photo)

Smoke fills the altar as a Mexican indian woman waves an orange branch over Pope John Paul II during a traditional spiritual cleansing ceremony, in the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, August 1, 2002. A weaker and fatigued Pope on Thursday concludes one of the longest trips of his pontificate, returning to Rome from the country where he began his foreign travels more than two decades ago. The 82-year-old pontiff is scheduled to leave Mexico after beatifying two Indians who were lynched in 1700 after denouncing their Indian community to Catholic authorities for worshiping pagan idols. REUTERS/Andrew Winning GMH/GN