Big crowd for Pope Benedict’s penultimate Sunday blessing

Foreign tourists and Romans packed into St Peter’s Square yesterday for one of the last chances in history to see Pope Benedict, whose resignation caused more surprise than sadness. “I was just excited that we were going to get to see him before he resigned, and thought it would be cool to be in Rome with something like that happening,” said Shea Wild, an American student who had planned the trip before Pope Benedict’s shock decision to step down. “If he thought he wasn’t able to continue his duties as Pope then, good for him for making the decision to resign,” said the 21-year-old Catholic as the cobble-stoned square began filling up. Not everyone was so understanding of the 85-year-old’s decision that the effects of age meant he was unable to go on, and several compared Pope Benedict unfavourably with his predecessor, John Paul II, who suffered a long, incapacitating illness before his death at 84 in 2005. “It was a big disappointment because usually the pope is someone who carries out his role until the end,” said Hugo Barone, 60, a retired engineer from central Italy. “Maybe John Paul was made of tougher stuff, he saw it through to the end. Ratzinger can’t do it and prefers a...