Pope John Paul's four-day visit to Poland has ended with an emotional farewell at Krakow airport.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch his departure from the region where he was born and spent much of his life.

Nuns prayed outside during the Mass

In the final hours of his visit, he attended a shrine to the Virgin Mary close to Krakow where he prayed for the protection of children from corruption.

His words came amid a worldwide crisis for the church, triggered by revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

One of the pontiff's former personal aides, the Archbishop of Poznan, Juliusz Paetz, is one of several prominent clerics who have been forced to resign over sexual abuse allegations.

Mass of two million

The 82-year-old Pope was given rapturous welcomes by crowds throughout his trip, - his ninth to Poland since becoming pontiff and possibly his last, given his declining health.

Your people welcome you, John Paul II

Crowds at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

In another part of his prayer at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska shrine, he asked the Virgin Mary for the strength to continue the mission given to him by the Lord, "to the end".

Bells tolled as the popemobile approached the monastery, which had been draped in Polish and Vatican flags.

A waiting crowd of 60,000 people chanted: "Your people welcome you, John Paul II."

More than two million people gathered for a Mass in Krakow on Sunday, where the Pope warned against abuses of genetic engineering while also taking an opportunity to joke with his audience in his native tongue.

Unfortunately this is a farewell meeting

Pope John Paul II

He also visited Rakowicki cemetery, blessing the graves of his parents and his elder brother from the popemobile, and the Wawel Cathedral, where he celebrated his first Mass as a priest in 1946.

Rejuvenated

Later, making his nightly appearance at the floodlit window of the archbishop's residence - his home until his election as Pope in 1978 - he broke into song to bid an emotional farewell.

No! This is not the last meeting!

Crowd

"We are saying goodbye, Hallelujah!" he sang to a traditional melody, bringing many of the thousands outside to tears.

"Unfortunately, this is a farewell meeting," he said, provoking cries of "No!" and "This is not the last meeting!"

Correspondents say the trip has appeared to rejuvenate the Pope, who told crowds he hoped to see them again, but that the matter was in God's hands.