World's Catholics look to future after funeral

VATICAN CITY - The world’s Catholics looked to the College of Cardinals to begin the difficult task of choosing a worthy successor to John Paul II, while hundreds of thousands of weary pilgrims who flooded Rome for the pontiff’s funeral began their journeys home on Saturday.

Police cleared out St. Peter’s Square late Friday and blocked it with metal barricades, breaking up groups of Poles who stood in a circle in the drizzle, praying under their umbrellas.

“We hope that the new pope will continue the work that John Paul set up,” said Monica Barthicka, 23, a student from Warsaw.

Mateusz Rozycki, 25, an accountant also from John Paul’s homeland, drove to Rome in 20 hours for the elaborate funeral, one of the largest the world has ever witnessed.

“People in Poland, and maybe elsewhere, changed a little bit because of him. If some of those thoughts remain in our hearts for a little while, I will be satisfied,” Rozycki said.

Exodus from Rome
Pilgrims began a massive exodus, carrying backpacks, folded flags and rolled-up sleeping bags and headed for train stations or parking lots on the outskirts of the city. Rome officials estimated that most would be gone by the end of Saturday.

Police say some 4 million pilgrims traveled to Rome during the week to pay tribute to the pope. The turnout was comparable to the vast crowds that gathered to mourn Mohandas Gandhi of India, Mao Zedong of China and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran.

John Paul’s funeral was also one of the most prestigious, drawing presidents, kings and religious leaders from all corners of the globe, including President Bush and his predecessors, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

Italy’s Minister of the Interior, Giuseppe Pisanu, said 1.4 million managed to file past the pope’s body during the four days he lay in state, after waiting in line for an average 13 hours. The numbers reported by Giuseppe Pisanu on a television talk show Friday were the most authoritative yet.

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