At Vatican, pilgrims remember pope as man of peace, father figure

Published: 2008-04-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to mark the third anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death remembered him as a man of peace and a pastoral father who inspired a whole generation of young people around the world. Tens of thousands of people of every age and nationality attended the April 2 outdoor memorial Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. Banners and flags, many of them representing Poland, fluttered in the gentle breeze under Rome's warm spring skies. Pope John Paul "really felt like a father figure, and the way he loved Christ inspired me to love God more," said Carolina Robles, 25, of Lubbock, Texas. She told Catholic News Service that the late pope convinced her that committing oneself to God was something that every young person could and needed to do. "Being young, he made me think I could do that and not wait until the end" to follow Christ, she said. "He knew young people had a yearning for God in their hearts," said Robles, one of a small group of graduate students of theology studying in Rome this spring.

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