"It's a great experience for our students," said Rev. Bindy Snyder, the school's chaplain.

"There's something fresh about this that resonates with people."

Employing hip hop music, local rappers and a break dancer, the worship service was a far cry from typical Episcopal tradition.

Dr Williams presented the Pope with a pectoral cross. He introduced his wife, Jane, as a theologian; the Primate of the West Indies, the Most Revd Drexel Gomez, who chairs the Inter Anglican Standing Committee on Ecumenical Relations; and the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali.

A spokesman for Dr Williams said that he expected that there would be "a fuller meeting" with the Pope at a later date.

Although the claim was repeated by several national newspapers, it happens to be untrue. In fact, Dr Donald Coggan travelled to Rome to attend John Paul II's inauguration in 1978.

Lambeth Palace eventually retracted the incorrect press release, but not before it had intrigued religious observers. They see it as evidence of a hasty - and botched - attempt to "muscle in" on the recent coverage of papal affairs.

The Canadian branch of the church has been facing criticism over its liberal stand on homosexual marriages, and has been asked to withdraw delegates from a worldwide Anglican meeting this summer.

The issue began to generate debate among Anglicans here and abroad when the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster decided to bless same-sex marriages, starting in 2003.