01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 10, 2005

Pope John Paul II's funeral, on Friday, was one of the largest public events in history -- an outpouring of devotion to a person whose influence was built on fervent faith, moral and physical courage, charisma and high intelligence. An estimated 4 million people crowded into Rome for the ceremony, doubling the city's population. Most came for one reason: They loved this world-historical figure. About 300,000 jammed St. Peter's Square, while others watched on giant TV screens all over Rome.

At times the event seemed more a celebration of his life than an occasion for mourning. People smiled, rhythmically applauded, and chanted, "Santo! Santo!," in hopes that John Paul would be granted sainthood.

Those from his native Poland, wearing traditional white, expressed their love for the man who had played such a mighty role in freeing their country, and the rest of Eastern Europe, from communist oppression. They waved red-and-white flags and chanted, "Polska! Polska!" Back in Krakow, 800,000 people watched on large screens set up in a field.

Even Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, not known for demonstrations of feeling, choked up as he recalled the pope's struggle to bless the flock on Easter Sunday. "We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house," he said, "that he sees us and blesses us."

(Meanwhile, it was learned from John Paul's will that he had ordered his private papers destroyed -- depriving historians of a chance to learn more about this man of great complexity and his tumultuous times.)

The Roman Catholic Church now turns to selecting a new pontiff, who will benefit from the faith inspired by John Paul II and by the expanding Catholic memberships in Africa and some other places. But the new pope will also face such challenges as the West's decline in church attendance, the legacy of sexual abuse committed by priests, and pressure from some quarters to force the church away from such traditions as the all-male priesthood and the ban on artificial birth control.

Will some of these views be shaped, or reshaped, by the powerful scenes of Friday's funeral?