Pope Benedict celebrates Mass, calls his predecessor 'rock of faith'

Published: 2006-04-03

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II was a "rock of faith," communicating the Gospel even when he could no longer speak and suffering racked his body, Pope Benedict XVI said, celebrating a memorial Mass for the late pope. Just as he did a year earlier when he lay dying, Pope John Paul drew tens of thousands of people -- mainly young people -- to St. Peter's Square to mark the first anniversary of his death with an April 2 nighttime vigil and an April 3 evening Mass. In his homily at the Mass, Pope Benedict said, "Those who were able to associate with him close up could almost touch that pure and solid faith of his," a faith that also impressed huge crowds as he traveled the world. Pope Benedict was speaking from personal experience as one of Pope John Paul's closest collaborators for more than two decades as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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