April 2 9.37 pm

After an absence of more than ten years, I once more was in Rome with a group of some 25 people. The trip was organised by the Ghent diocese. We were staying in the convent - seminar - hotel - conference center of a French priestly order, about 30 - 45 minutes on foot from St Peters Square ; a very comfortable and nice, clean and relatively tranquil place in a small parksite.

We just had finished dinner and discussed the coming demise of the pope. A couple of people in our company were sitting in the improvised bar, but - believe it or not - I went to my room and tuned in to CNN, where I heard that this time it was for real, the pope was dying. I went down to the bar and a couple of priests and some other participants decided to go to the vigil on St Peters Square.

I decided not to go along and went back to my room where a couple of minutes after 9.37 pm CNN announced that the pope had died. I immediately called the cell phone of one of the guys who had gone to St Peters Square but got no answer, so I went to sleep.

At breakfast the next morning most people in our group hadn't heard the news yet. The guys in the square had heard an announcement but did not know what it was all about, until the lights in the papal appartment went out. And even then they were not sure ...

Rome was a beleaguered city : close to the Tiber and San Angelo Castle there was a complete village with trucks, tents and satellite dishes and literally hundreds of journalists. People with flat roofs and a view on St Peters rented their roofs out for small fortunes, and all available public transport was rerouted to St Peters. The streets were full of people and pickpockets had the day of their life. I escaped two attempts in crowded busses in one afternoon : normally, I wouldn't dream of wrestling my way up a crowded bus, but I was with a company, and had to follow.

Sunday morning, we participated in the High mass celebrated on St Peters Square by cardinal Sodano, if my memory serves me right. In the square there were at least three hunderd thousand people - it was crammed to capacity - and probably the same number in the surrounding streets. I hate crowds with a passion, but this was an unforgettable and deep spiritual experience. It took us close to two hours to get away from the square after mass. The milling crowds were awful ! All by all going to, participating in, and getting away from the ceremony took the better part of six hours.

We didn't have the time to go and see the pope lying in state in the basilica although many in our group would have loved to. We flew home on the day the lying in state started. I have heard about people standing from very early morning until late afternoon in unseasonably hot weather to have a fast glimpse of the deceased pope. But I must say, even the first day after the pope died, help for the crowds (health care, water points ...) was remarkably well organised. It must have been planned for a long time.

A small footnote : the founder of the order we stayed with was on his way to sainthood : he was to be declared blessed in June or July of 2005. One of the first acts of Benedict XVI was to delay (cancel?) the declaration because the French 19th century priest had been an antisemite - at least in some of his declarations or writings. How many 19th century priests would not have been antisemites ? Political correctness is a high priority, even in Vatican City.

And another one : cardinal Ratzinger (the Panzerkardinal) had a terrible reputation and many people, priests and laymen, did not hesitate to pronounce him a dangerous man. Most of them by now have surely had to eat their words ? For what it is worth : as a contrarian, I am proud to say that I considered him the right man in the right place at the right time from the moment his predecessor had passed away.