Speaking In "A New Way"

Now that's a happy Fluffiness right there.

The Popemobile left the familiar confines of St Peter's Square an hour or so ago as Benedict XVI sought to greet the masses who, as he said, "have come in such numbers" for the First Vespers of Pentecost, marking the Second Meeting of the Lay Ecclesial Movements.

The crowd, which will probably top 200,000, packed the Squaree and stretched down the length of the Via della Conciliazione to the street's end at the banks of the Tiber.

At the service of Evening Prayer, held on the steps of the Basilica, reflections were given by Andrea Ricciardi, head of the Sant'Egidio community; Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, and Fr Julian Carron, president of Benedict's beloved Comunione e Liberazione. A massive pan-movement choir was on hand as the Pope presided in a liturgical red cope and gold mitre.

Texts as they're available.


PHOTO: AP/Riccardo De Luca

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