//STEPHEN MCGINTY IN ROME AND RICHARD GRAY


THE rain fell on St Peter’s Square, making puddles through which the
pilgrims passed. The dark clouds were forecast for the funeral of Pope
John Paul II on Friday but had kept a discreet distance until after the
two million mourners who had gathered in the city had dispersed.

Yesterday they unleashed a deluge. Huddled under umbrellas, a few
hundred Poles queued to enter the basilica, still imbued with the memory
of Karol Wojtyla.

Before 10am a steady stream of cars carrying cardinals from around the
globe arrived at the Vatican gates to be waved in by Swiss guards in
their distinctive candy-striped uniforms. In their hands rests the
future of the Roman Catholic Church and the spiritual direction of its
1.1 billion adherents.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=379152005