That's when a girl came to the Whyville Beach and shouted, "The Pope Has Died!!! Doesn't Anyone Care!?!"

I was shocked!

If I had known what had happened, I wouldn't have been on Whyville that day. I am Catholic and attend a Catholic school, so we have learned a lot about the Pope. The Pope means a lot to me and my family.

I was so sad. I quickly called my mom and dad on their cell phones and told them the terrible news. I had been hearing in the news about his critical condition and how he had been recently hospitalized. We also had prayed for him in our Religion class at school.

As I write this, I feel so sad. Never in my lifetime have I ever felt this feeling before. I didn't know him personally and I had never met him before, and yet I feel a terrible loss. The Catholic Church probably feels the same way.

As we deal with our sorrow and loss, I can't help but also think about the future. It will be quite a new experience for me, seeing the process of choosing a new Pope. I am not sure how it is done! It will be interesting, yet very sad for me and my family.

Our family will read the news headlines in the papers and watch the television shows for the next few days, soaking in as much information as we can bear.

This is a sorrowful time for me and millions of others around the world.

-piNkH0ty

Editor's Note: Whether we share your faith or not, piNkH0ty, we can all share in part of the sadness that today is felt by millions of Catholics and others who admired Pope John Paul II for his generosity, devotion and love for all living beings. I'm glad that as you feel grief for the pope, you can also feel curiosity and hope for the future at such a time. That, at least, is a good sign for us all.