Vatican, Rome Quiet After Youth Day Excitement

VATICAN, Aug. 22 (CWNews.com) - Two days after the conclusion of a memorable World Youth Day celebration, the Vatican paused to catch its breath on Tuesday.

Many Vatican offices were closed, with officials who had worked overtime through the weekend taking time for some belated rest. Reporters-- if they were not taking days off themselves-- devoted their attention to retrospective analysis of the week-long youth pilgrimage.

Even shopkeepers were inclined to take a day off. The 2 million young people who had overwhelmed the Eternal City-- prompting Pope John Paul II to compare them to a conquering army-- were gone, and the Roman residents who had left town to avoid the crush of traffic had not yet returned.

Ordinarily the city of Rome is quiet in August. On August 22, after a week characterized by an unprecedented display of youthful zeal, the city returned to its usual form.

It was, in short, a class example of the «slow news day.» CWN-- whose correspondents, like so many others, are taking an overdue rest-- really has nothing to report.

Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update