I started to tell him that, soon, the only Pope he has ever known...
and then I had to turn away because I began crying.
My mother used to work in the Accounting Dept. at the US HQ for Scandinavian Airlines. When I was 5 (1954), she took me to Europe. Our travels included a stop in Rome. It was the Marian Year and she had obtained tickets for a general audience with Pope Pius XII. I still recall being packed into St. Peter's Basilica, like a tiny sardine amongst the adults. The crowds continued to push forward and my mother disappeared from sight. Suddenly a Franciscan monk appeared bent over and lifted me up onto his shoulders. He then grabbed my mother and escorted us both out of St. Peters. The next day, we obtained tickets for the reviewing stand along the route the Holy Father would take on this major procession.
Many years later, coincidnentally, I just happened to be in Rome when Pope John Paul I died. It was a most extraordinary scene in St. Peter's Square as pilgrims from all around the globe descended. I distinctly recall the discussion amongst the faithful with regard to the new Vatican currency, bearing the image of Pope John Paul I. It was still being struck, following his ordination and now the mold would have to be broken.