Four million pilgrims gathered in Rome yesterday to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. Many more millions turned on their TV set to follow what was happening at St Peter’s Basilica.

Leaders from around the world flew to Rome to pay tribute to the man who helped change the course of history and whose charisma touched the hearts of one and all.

Emotions ran high since, last Thursday week, it became clear that Pope John Paul II was close to death. He passed a way last Saturday, with Rome and in particular the Vatican immediately becoming the centre of the world.

That the Pope was a person who was loved and admired could be seen from the fact that the world seemed to stop. There was nothing else on television except live footage from St Peter’s Square and documentaries and interviews on the Pope’s life.

The media concentrated mostly on the life and times of the deceased Pontiff, and although it did start speculating on who would be appointed Pope in his stead, its main focus was on the man from Poland. It is only now that the Pope has been buried that the spotlight will be on the race for his succession.

Many people spent hours watching television to see what was taking place in Rome and to somehow feel closer to a pope who did so much for world peace, and who also honoured us Maltese with two visits.

Some went further than that, going to Rome to join

millions of other pilgrims from around the world who wanted to just be there in the week preceding the Pope’s funeral or on the day itself, yesterday. Others wanted to go, but unfortunately were disappointed because it became clear that they would not have been allowed to join the queue or mourners in time.

Queues lasting 15-18 hours were reported as the people lined up – walking a maximum of 10 metres per hour – just to be able to walk past the body of Pope John Paul as it lied in state in St Peter’s Basilica. It was an ordeal, but an experience they will never forget.

Rome turned into an open-air hotel as open spaces were filled up with tents or with people just sleeping under a tree because all of Rome’s hotels and hostels were fully booked.

In his life, Pope John Paul II was able to attract the masses wherever he went. After his death, he attracted even more. Never before had Rome seen such a massive influx of people. More people are also expected to travel to Rome in the coming weeks and months to visit the Pope’s place of burial.

One Italian commentator described what has taken place over the past days as an impromptu World Youth Day, considering that many of the people who flocked to the Vatican were mostly young people. It is often said that young people do not take an interest in religion, but the devotion to Pope John Paul II and his message shows otherwise.

“We were used to having him as principal figure and now we feel a little bit like orphans,” one of the many youngsters who went to Rome said.

And it’s true. The Pope had been with us for 27 years. The younger generations do not remember another Pontiff, and it will therefore be hard for them to accept that he is no longer there.

The older people remember Pope John Paul II’s predecessors but, again, his long leadership of the Roman Catholic Church places the others in a distant memory that is hard to recall.

Let us hope and pray that the vivid recollections we all have of Pope John Paul II and his messages will stay with us. In this way, we would be keeping him alive in our hearts.