THE BIGGEST gathering of Polish people in Southampton is set to take place today in celebration of Pope John Paul II.

On the day of the Pope's funeral in St Peter's, Rome, Southampton's Polish community will gather at St Edmund's Church for a special memorial mass in Polish.

During this week the Polish community have met in St Edmund's in The Avenue from 8.30pm to 9.15pm to pray and sing as they remember the role of Pope John Paul in the liberation of Poland.

On Monday they shared a memorial mass at the church where many pictures portraits of the Pope were on display, including one of him as goalkeeper in an international students' football team in Rome in 1947.

The photograph also shows the late Father Pat Murphy O'Connor, formerly parish priest in the Immaculate Conception Church in Portswood and brother of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor.

Their brother Canon Brian Murphy O'Connor, who is now retired, was formerly the parish priest of Brockenhurst.

During the mass Canon John O'Shea said: "The election of a Polish Pope focussed the world's attention on the plight of Poland.

"He was a key factor in the decline of communism and the end of the cold war."

Canon O'Shea also spoke about the symbolic gestures of the Pope, his visit to Jerusalem, and his apology on behalf of the Christian Church to the Jewish community.

Throughout this week the city's Catholic communities have been meeting and praying for Pope John Paul II.

On Sunday at 5pm all faith leaders in Southampton are invited to St Edmund's for a special memorial service of thanksgiving.

Southampton mayor Councillor Dennis Harryman and other civic leaders will be attending the service and an open invitation is offered to anyone wishing to join the gathering.

An hour earlier an ecumenical service of prayer and thanksgiving following the death of Pope John Paul will be held in Portsmouth Cathedral.