Paying Respects To John Paul
An estimated 100,000 people filled St. Peter's Square for a Mass in honor of Pope John Paul II on Sunday, while church leaders, Italian politicians and diplomats paid their last respects to the pontiff at the Vatican.
The pope's body was on display at the Apostolic Palace, dressed in crimson vestments, his head covered with a white bishop's miter. The Vatican released the pope's official cause of death, saying he died at the age 84 at 9:37 p.m. Saturday of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse.
John Paul's remains will be transferred Monday to St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing. The funeral is expected by Friday.
In St. Peter's Square, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, celebrated a Mass for the pope Sunday morning, calling on the large crowd to pray for "our beloved John Paul."
"Today, while we weep for the departure of the pope who left us, we open our hearts to the vision of our eternal destiny," Sodano, the Vatican's No. 2 official, said in his homily.
"For a quarter century, he brought the Gospel of Christian hope to all the piazzas of the world, teaching all of us that our death is nothing but the passage toward the homeland in the sky," he said.
Bells tolled and pilgrims wept in remembrance of the Polish-born pope, who reigned for longer than all but two of his predecessors and was credited with helping bring down communism in Europe and spreading a message of peace around the world.
"John Paul held his hand to us young people," said 21-year-old Alessio Bussolotti, who drove to Rome on Sunday morning with his fellow Boy Scouts from the Italian city of Ancona. "Now we have to give him ours."
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After the Mass ended, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, who became the pope's public "voice" in his final weeks, read the traditional Sunday noontime prayer, which John Paul delivered throughout his pontificate. The crowd applauded when Sandri announced that the late pope had actually prepared the prayer himself before he died, saying he was reading it "with such honor, but also such nostalgia."
About 80,000 people attended the Mass, with about 20,000 more spilling into the surrounding boulevards, police said.
Later, the cardinals and other members of the Roman Curia, the Vatican diplomatic corps and Italian government went to the Apostolic Palace to pay their respects to John Paul, whose head rested on a golden pillow, his arms folded and a bishop's staff tucked under his left arm.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Premier Silvio Berlusconi and prelates stood in line to pay their respects. John Paul's longtime personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, sat in prayer in a pew and then greeted prelates and dignitaries. At times he was seen wiping tears from his eyes.
Top Vatican officials attended, including the close papal aide Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, American Cardinal Edmund Szoka, Polish nuns and his personal doctor. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the late pope's vicar for Rome, prayed on his knees by the pope's body.
The Vatican Swiss Guards also lined up to pay their respects, kneeling and bowing before the pope and removing their plummed helmets.
The Vatican broke with past tradition by allowing politicians and diplomats as well as television cameras to view the pope's body in the Apostolic Palace, reports CBS News Correspondent Sabina Castelfranco. In the past, only church officials were allowed to see the pontiff.
"Our Holy Father looks very much at peace. It was very satisfying for all of us to see him so serene," Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles said after visiting the room where the pope's body lay in state.
"He was such a brilliant light for the world," he said, comparing Pope John Paul's life to the candle burning on his bedside – as something that gave bright light before flickering out peacefully.
The pope died very serenely Saturday evening, "like Jesus," he said. "His life is finished and he gave up his spirit."
According to a Vatican statement, the pope's body was to be brought to St. Peter's Basilica by Monday afternoon. The College of Cardinals is to meet at 10:30 a.m. Monday in its first gathering before a secret election later this month to choose a new pope.
The cardinals were expected to set a date for his funeral, which the Vatican said was likely to be between Wednesday and Friday.
The Vatican has declined to say whether he left instructions for his funeral or burial. Most popes in recent centuries have asked to be buried in the crypts below St. Peter's Basilica, but some have suggested John Paul might have chosen to be laid to rest in his native Poland.
About 100,000 Poles mourned the pope's death Sunday in the Warsaw square where he celebrated a landmark Mass that inspired opponents of the communist regime 26 years ago.
"From the symbolic place where John Paul II lit the flame of freedom, dignity and solidarity, Warsaw is praying for mercy for the Holy Father," Bishop Piotr Jarecki told the crowd gathered for the special service.
Bells tolled in churches everywhere when the pope's death was announced Saturday night. In Paris, the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral sounded 84 times – once for each year of the pontiff's life.
World leaders also paid tribute to the pope's legacy.
President Bush said, "The world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home."
Former President Bill Clinton told CBS' Sunday Morning, "He was always just who he was – that's all you can ask of anyone. And at that he was a great man. He was big in what he believed and he didn't demean other people or demonize them. He was a very able political leader."
Praise for John Paul II transcended religious boundaries.
In Israel, CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins reports, John Paul will be remembered for his attempts to bring about a reconciliation between Roman Catholics and Jews and for his acknowledgment of what he called the Church's sins against the Jewish people throughout history.
"Pope John Paul II was a man of peace, a friend of the Jewish nation," said Sharon.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the pope will be remembered "as a distinguished religious figure," while militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad also expressed their sorrow.
Even in communist Cuba, Fidel Castro's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque expressed "profound sorrow" and fondly recall the pope's visit to the island seven years ago.