Toronto ? With the world watching, a frail but determined Pope John Paul II walked down the steps of his plane Tuesday instead of using a lift after arriving in Canada to join thousands of young Catholic pilgrims for World Youth Day.

Clutching a rail and helped by an aide, the 82-year-old pope inched his way down the 27 steps to the tarmac, drawing cheers from onlookers.

Pope John Paul II takes a step as he disembarks from his plane after its arrival at the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Assisting at center is the pope's secretary, Bishop Stanislaw Dsiwisz. The clergyman at right is unidentified.

“The very fact that Your Holiness has made the trip here bears witness to your tenacity and your courage in pursuing the spiritual objectives that are at the heart of your pontificate,” Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in welcoming the pope.

John Paul boarded the Alitalia plane in Rome using a lift, one of several accommodations the Vatican has made because of his frail condition.

“I wish I was a fly on the wall in that plane. He must have told them he was going to walk down those stairs. That was astounding,” said Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston, Ontario.

John Paul thanked Toronto for welcoming the almost 200,000 pilgrims registered for World Youth Day, calling the event a crucial way to preserve hope in the young.

“Too many lives begin and end without joy, without hope,” he said. “Young people are coming together to commit themselves, in the strength of their faith in Jesus Christ, to the great cause of peace and human solidarity.”

John Paul later boarded a military helicopter to the remote Strawberry Island, 50 miles north of the city, where he will rest before his first World Youth Day event Thursday.