The Pope in Edinburgh 40 years on: Here are 27 amazing pictures of Pope John Paul II's visit to the Capital in 1982

It’s been four decades since tens of thousands of people welcomed the Pope to Murrayfield Stadium as part of his visit to Scotland.

The visit was part of a tour of the UK – the first by a reigning Pope - that saw him visit nine cities and deliver 16 major addresses.

He started his visit in England and flew north of the border from RAF Leeming, in Yorkshire, from where he travelled by jet to RAF Turnhouse – now Edinburgh Airport – on May 31, 1982.

Murrayfield Stadium was his first port of call, where he met with around 45,000 young people and Protestant church leaders, before visiting the Capital’s Catholic cathedral and the Assembly Hall.

The next day, June 1, saw John Paul II visit patients at St Joseph's Hospital in Rosewell, address teachers at St Andrew's College, and celebrate Mass with a huge crowd of around 300,000 people at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park.

Here are 27 pictures to take you back to his memorable day in Edinburgh.

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