Hey Adymarie...

Did you get to see the Pope when he was in Toronto? He went to Guatemala after that and then was in Mexico for three days. He arrived on Tuesday and left this afternoon. He was in Mexico because he canonized a saint. The saint's name is Juan Diego and he was the Indian man who saw the Virgin of Guadalupe many years ago. The pope also beautified two Mexican Matryrs from Oaxaca. I saw the whole thing on TV. I felt joy when I saw him. I saw him in person back in 1979 when he went to Mexico for the first time. I was four then, but I remember the streets crowded with many devout catholics lined to get a glimpse of him. My grandmother had a house where we could see the whole procession. Well, many catholics lined up along the streets of Mexico, chanting and praising the Pope as he made his way to the Basilica of Guadalupe. I wish I was there. I am not too fond of crowds but this is a once in a lifetime occasion. Seeing his frail body made me sad that this wonderful man is nearing the end of his life. I respect and love the pope because he wants peace in the world. He loves children and the poor. And he is an adventorous pope who loves his people. Today, I woke up at seven to watch him leave. He left the place where he was staying, made his way to the basilica to beautify the two matryrs, and then went to the airport where he left for Rome. Even though I wasn't there in person, the sight of him and the sight of the millions of people chanting, cheering, and crying to see him leave, I cried too. Here is the phraises that he left behind: 'I go, but I do not leave," and "Although I go, in my heart I remain."
I feel alot more spiritual after his visit.

Nena - it was an amazing visit! I didn't get to see him in person - I had the flu, but I watched all of the coverage. He seems to get stronger when he is surrounded by youth. For the 1st time in years, he walked down the plane stairs, and then up when he left, normally he gets a lift. This was the 1st time he vacationed out side of Italy ever - he had 3 days without official duties. He stayed on a private island and went boating very day.

The best part of the experience was the young people from all over the world in my city. They sang, the danced, they were pleasant and polite. They also, as part of their pilgrimage, did community service. Some helped build a Habitat for Humanity house. Others worked at the food bank, or at shelters. There were many things they helped with and they made my city a better place while they were here.

There were some unfortunate instances though. The biggest problem is that a pilgram flushed a rain coat down a porta potty that was then put into the city's sewage system. It caused a back flash of sewage that then flooded about 12 business (a couple high end furniture stores). The damage will take up to 3 months to clean up as walls have to be torn out and replaced (air born spores). All of the furniture has been contaminated and will be destroyed. It was a horrible waste.

At the end alot of pilgrams have refused to leave Canada and are claiming refugee status - there are 23 alone just from Cuba.

It was sad to see him so frail. I'm Lutheran, but I respect him for dedicating his life to the service of God. I would have been thrilled to see him.