.: poparazzi :.

We journeyed to the Thuringian capital of Erfurt to meet up with the Pope on the second leg of his first official visit to the former East Germany. Though we started out very early and rushed before the floodgates to the Cathedral Square closed, we found ourselves slowed to a trickle as we wound around a disorientating route through the old city’s alleys and cul-de-sacs to join a massive crush of people, nearly 30,000 who had also come to share this experience.

And it really was something to witness up close and take part in all the pageantry and ceremony, and though it was not a small affair, our audience, we could see everything quite well but the glare of the morning sun made it easier to watch the spectacle on the Jumbotrons (giant television screens), and hard to take pictures, though we did capture him en route in his Pope Mobile.

The sermon and the mass were also very moving: though we saw the Pope because we had the opportunity, I do not think we were just spectators or paparazzi for Cardinal Ratzinger, in was fascinating to be part of that big crowd and his message of rediscovery of one’s faith was strong and regardless of the substance, showed him to be of a character that cares about people and is burdened with worrying, praying for everyone. It was a bit ironic that the Pope preached from the very cathedral where Martin Luther, who was the architect behind the major schism of Western Christianity resulting in Catholics and Protestants, was first ordained as a Catholic bishop. It was challenging to tell if anyone really appreciated that irony. Afterwards, having stood for hours, we were a little tired but both glad to have made the journey and saw it through.

Incidentally, the headline of a major news service read in the hours following, “Pope celebrates Mass in Former Communist East Germany despite Shooting Attempt,” and many things were misleading with this bit of sensational journalism, not the least of which concerned a local resident apprehended about a hour too early and a kilometer too far for trying to shoot one of the ubiquitous police officers with an air rifle from his window and not at all what is sounded like.