As the Pope nears death, my mind is running through a lot of thoughts right now.

He’s the only Pope I’ve known. He stopped by Vancouver (or close by) in the early 80s. I remember my family heading off to see him. I was too young to remember any specific details, but I do remember waiting out in the sun for a long time. Three colours seem to run strongly in my mind. The field we were at had vivid green grass. It contrasted greatly with the white and yellow stage where the Pope was to appear.

I had another opportunity to see Pope John Paul II when he dropped by Toronto for World Youth Day…2002 (I think). Although he was so close, I chose not to go attend the events. I had work at the time, and I didn’t feel right taking a few days off. I don’t think I regret my decision. I was content enough to see the festivities on the television. I don’t think I would have been able to deal with the crowds. He looked…energized being surrounded by youth. He was seemingly able to keep up. I remember writing in this blog (in an entry that happened before the big wipeout of 2003) about how it was seeing youth from different nations throughout the transit system. All the different flags, and different languages weren’t enough to divide everyone who had gathered in this city for one purpose.

Over the past few months, seeing him in brief news reports speaking about his health deteriorating has made me feel pity. Seeing him trying to speak, but only being able to make a few grunts, in my mind, was a sign that he was nearing his end. Right now, especially with his recent heart failure and going into toxic shock, I can’t help but wish that he would die soon so as not to prolong his suffering.

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On a slightly different note, all this talk of the passing of a pope is reminding me of Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. I was reading a brief description of procedures after the passing of a pope in The Toronto Star and it mentioned terms I had learned in Brown’s book, like “camerlengo”, or the “chamberlain”. The camerlengo acts as sort of a custodian in between the death of a pope and the election of the new pope. He oversees the government while there is no head.

Now, I know there are no murder plots or intrigue involved like in the book, but it’s still a bit eerie to make the inevitable comparisons.

*Yeesh…I’ve incorrectly spelled camerlengo all this time. It’s now corrected.