Pope's Visit: A Close Look

Although I was standing in Saint Peter's Square on April 19, 2005 when the prelate, known previously as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, stepped onto balcony and was introduced for the first time as Pope Benedict XVI and have also seen him several times in Rome since then, his trip to the United States has offered me my first close look at the man.

What strikes me first is his physical energy. At age 81 (his birthday was yesterday) he walks quickly and reads long texts in a strong voice, never seeming to tire. For those of us who watched Pope John Paul's long, slow decline due to Parkinson's disease - slurring his words towards the end of his life, and unable to sit up in a chair - Benedict seems remarkably youthful: physically and mentally equipped  to steer the world's largest church for another decade.

I'm also struck by how much he seems to be enjoying himself. He smiles often, sometimes breaking into what can only be called grins, as if surprised and delighted by the applause and whistles. His gestures are not nearly as dramatic as those of his friend and predecessor, Pope John Paul II, but he comes across as a grandfatherly figure who cares for, and about, his flock. The American public, and especially Catholics, may start to warm up to this man they did not heretofore seem to know.

He has just begun the consecration, the most solemn portion of the Mass.