The death of a pope
The reign of John Paul II
  At times both daring and defensive, inspiring and insular, John Paul II, 263rd successor of St. Peter, leaves behind the great irony of a world more united because of his life and legacy, and a church more divided.
   This is perhaps the best first draft of history one can offer about a man who towered over the times in a way few other leaders of his era did. Read the full analysis.

From the window of the father's house
Here is the English translation of the homily, delivered in Italian by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, at the funeral Mass for the Holy Father John Paul II, held in St Peter's Square this morning. The translation comes from the Vatican Information Service. Read the full story.

He was the grandfather of their souls
By Joan Chittister, OSB, Rome
By the time you read this, Rome will already have buried its bishop. But as I write this, at the Vatican the last person is still filing past the bier of Pope John Paul II and stragglers are still straining to taste some part of the history of this moment. Read the full story.

An American pope is not likely, but …
By John L. Allen Jr., Rome
When it comes to the election of a pope, there are very few things that can be predicted with much confidence. In analyzing the selection of John Paul's successor, therefore, there are only a handful of things that can be said with certainty. Read the full story.

Europe debates how to mourn John Paul II
By Marc Mazgon-Fernandes, Brussels
As Europe prepared for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, embarrassment seemed to prevail in European Union institutions unsure of how to mourn the late pontiff. Read the full story.

A blueprint for the future papacy
By Stacy Meichtry, Rome
In a point-by-point "blueprint" of the future papacy, Godfried Danneels of Belgium, a cardinal on several papabili lists, made a carefully-worded appeal for the selection of a pontiff capable of adapting church teaching to the demands of the modern world. Read the full story.

Poignant and paradoxical
By Joan Chittister, OSB, Rome
People are standing in two lines - one along the Tiber River, the other down the little side streets around St. Peters - inching down the broad boulevard to St. Peter's Square and then into the basilica itself to view the body of the recently deceased Pope John Paul II. There is something very touching about the crowd scene but there is also something paradoxical about it, because as millions mourn, life in the Italian café goes on. Read the full story.

Day Five, April 6, 2005

'How do you live Christ in today's secular culture?'
By John L. Allen Jr., Rome
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster held a sit-down session with a number of print journalists on Wednesday at the English College. Genial and soft-spoken, Murphy-O'Connor announced that he would not be commenting on the conclave or candidates to be the next pope. He also warned reporters that this was more or less their last shot, as he did not intend to organize similar sessions next week. Read the full story.

Collegiality, better communication cited as concerns entering the conclave
By Stacy Meichtry, Rome
As preparations for the first papal election in 26 years get underway, cardinals addressed the need for better communication between the Vatican and local dioceses while batting away concerns that regional agendas would influence their voting. Read the full story.

Day Four, April 5, 2005

Secretary to three popes has vivid memories
By John L. Allen Jr., Rome
Bishop John Magee of Cloyne, Ireland, served as secretary to Popes Paul VI, John Paul I, and, for four years, John Paul II. He spoke to NCR on April 4, after arriving in Rome to pay his respects to the final pope with whom he was on intimate terms. Read the full story.

Endless crowds wait hours to view body of John Paul II
By Stacy Meichtry, Vatican City
Tens of thousands waited their turn in line Monday and Tuesday to get an up-close look at the body of Pope John Paul II, a man that everyone in line had experienced on television, but only a few had yet seen in the flesh. Read the full story.

Day Three, April 4, 2005

John Paul II set high standards for successor
By John L. Allen Jr., Rome
Conclaves almost always produce surprises and change at the top of the Catholic church, in part because cardinals generally strive to address the unfinished business and correct the perceived weaknesses of the pontificate just ended. That means the kind of man who's elected in this centuries-old process is usually different, in ways large and small, from the pope he follows. Read the full story.

World religious and political leaders weigh in on legacy of John Paul II
By Stacy Meichtry, Vatican City
As images of the lifeless body of Pope John Paul II were broadcast to the world, heads of state and religious leaders offered their interpretations of his 26-year pontificate. Read the full story.

Day Two, April 3, 2005

Mourners flood St. Peter’s Square; ‘Italy weeps for a father’
By Stacy Meichtry, Rome
Everyone present in Rome had known what to expect. First the bell would toll. Then the square would swell. The prayers would intensify. But foreknowledge did not soften the final blow. The death of Pope John Paul II was not just the end of a pontificate, it was a death in the family. “We all feel like orphans this evening,” Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the tens of thousands already in St. Peter’s Square minutes after the pontiff’s death. Their numbers would rapidly multiply as the city population converged on the square, filling its oval contours with a sea of down cast faces and flickering candle light. Read the full story.

Past NCR Coverage of John Paul II and his papacy

The pope of the divided heart From NCR March 4, 2005
    Brazil's Cardinal Arns recalls his friendship with John Paul II and scrapes with bureaucrats.
The List Feb. 25, 2005
    A list of Catholic theologians and others disciplined by the Vatican during the papacy of John Paul II.
Twenty-five years as pope Oct. 23, 2003
    For a pope of a hundred trips and a million words, perhaps the most important lesson John Paul has offered is the coherence of his own life.