After several weeks of high-pitched fundamentalist rhetoric which threatened to mar the visit, the Sangh Parivar subsided with a whimper on Thursday. Its much-publicised Goa-Delhi yatra ended virtually unnoticed in the Capital this morning. All of 50 yatris marched into Delhi from Faridabad and dispersed after holding a public meeting in which they decried forcible conversions by Christian missionaries.

On the other side, Delhi Archbishop Alan de Lastic extended the proverbial olive branch by describing the protests as ``natural, inevitable and even desirable'' in a democracy. He defended the Christian practice of conversions but stressed that the Church does not support any anti-Indian activity. ``We love this country and its people whom we have been serving through our institutions for centuries,'' he declared.

Thanksto a hectic backroom damage control exercise by both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, tempers have obviously cooled. However, the Government is not taking any chances. It has thrown a tight security ring around the venues the Pope will visit to ward off potential disruptions of an event which the entire Christian world will be watching with keen interest. Police deployment will be on the same scale as security arrangements for the Prime Minister, a senior Delhi Police official revealed.

The Pope will arrive at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday at 8:30 pm and will be received by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Ajit Kumar Panja. He will then be taken in a Rashtrapati Bhavan limousine to the Holy nunciature, the Vatican embassy where he will be residing during his stay.

On November 6, he will be given a ceremonial welcome by President K R Narayanan at the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhavan. After spending about 45 minutes with the President, he will go to Hyderabad Housewhere he will meet Vice President Krishna Kant and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Then the destination will be Rajghat to pay his respects to Mahatama Gandhi.In the evening, he will go to the Sacred Hearts Cathedral to have a meeting with the Bishops of Synod and promulgation of the Synod document and will address the gathering. He will also bless the crowd as his popemobile goes around the stadium before his address.

On November 7, his day will begin with the Holy Mass for the conclusion of Special assembly of Asian Synod of Bishops at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. That evening, he will go to Vigyan Bhavan to meet representatives from various religions gathered to meet him.

November 8 will begin early with a Private Holy Mass in the chapel of Vatican Embassy. He will then be driven to the Indira Gandhi International Airport and given a farewell ceremony. He will then leave for Georgia.Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena today said it would stage black flag demonstrations during the Papal visit beginning tomorrowif Pope John Paul II does not apologise for alleged atrocities on Hindus during Portuguese rule in Goa and other places in the country in the 16th century. The decision to stage demonstrations was taken at a meeting of the party executive following the arrest of top party leaders. ``We will stage demonstrations if the Pope does not apologise," a senior functionary, who has gone underground following the police crackdown.