Farewell

A crush of multinational people of every age attended the Pope's final audience beneath the radiant sun in Vatican Square. Some wore blue jeans, others fur coats, many wore white, blue or black habits and veiled heads representing various Catholic congregations, while Tibetan monks in saffron robes were also present. Teens smoked cigarettes and sported their national flag painted on their faces. The crowd chanted Ben-eh-deh-to, clap, clap, clap, clap - Ben-eh-deh-to. All ages stood on their chairs, 50,000 tickets had been handed out for seats another 100,000 plus stood spilling onto the cobblestones of Via Concelazione. Flags of the nations waved alongside homemade greetings, and our colorful Bridge for Peace banner exalting Jesus Christ snapped in the wind. Cameras from cell phone size to lenses so huge they looked comical and even tv cameras on cranes pointed to the white canopy at the top of the staircase where the Pope would eventually sit. A helicopter whirred above providing live feed to the world. Then the Swiss Guard strode forward, distinguishable by gold and navy vertically striped uniforms and sprightly red plumes curling above their helmets. Their appearance signaled the Pope's eminent arrival. People in front quickly took their seats, the boisterous became attentive. Then Pope Benedict XVI appeared and thundering applause echoed through the colonnade as he appeared. Colossians 1:3 "We always thank God for you..." rang out in Portuguese, French, Italian German and many more languages. And then the Pontiff's final public words, "Let us entrust ourselves with faith and hope to Christ who watches over our lives." With a final wave he bid us farewell, but we will not be far from his heart as he lives out his life in solitude praying for the needs of the world.