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WASHINGTON – St. Louis residents Charles and Shirley Drury planned what they wanted to say to Pope Benedict XVI weeks before their April 16 meeting with him in Washington, but when the moment arrived, the gregarious couple found themselves tongue-tied.

WASHINGTON – The liturgical celebration of Pope Benedict XVI’s April 17 Mass in Nationals Park reflected the diversity of Catholic heritages and sensibilities reflected in the Archdiocese of Washington, where the Mass was held.

WASHINGTON – Morning commuters found themselves surrounded on subway trains by a peculiar weekday morning sight – thousands of people climbing aboard as early as 5 a.m. to attend a Mass at Nationals Park celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

WASHINGTON – The tumultuous applause that greeted Pope Benedict XVI at the beginning of the April 17 Mass in Nationals Park was indicative of the excitement of the faithful at attending the first public U.S. Mass celebrated by the pope, who is concluding his third year as pontiff.

WASHINGTON – Celebrating Mass in a Washington baseball stadium, Pope Benedict XVI urged U.S. Catholics to renew their missionary energy at a time when American society is at a moral crossroads.

WASHINGTON – At the end of his remarks to the U.S. bishops April 16, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged “the immense suffering endured by the people of God” in the New Orleans Archdiocese because of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

WASHINGTON – Before Pope Benedict XVI headed to a prayer service with the U.S. bishops April 16, he had a series of brief encounters with an extremely small group of people both inside the Vatican nunciature and outside it.

WASHINGTON – For the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush was a proud day for Americans.