I quietly slid the camera back into my pocket.

A stream of images flooded over me. For some inexplicable reason, I thought of Christ on the via Doloroso, as he must have stopped for a few moments at one of the 'stations of the cross.'

Then, I thought of the young Buddha as he witnessed in the streets of his city, first, a man labouring with age, and then another, spent by disease.

I felt saddened by his burden, because I felt he was obviously carrying an immense one, unlike anything the thousands who surrounded him had ever experienced. I wanted to say something, anything. Even lean over and touch him. The line began to move again, and he struggled on …

A few days later, at the conclusion of one of the sessions, Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, whose job it was to shepherd the Assembly through the week stunned me when he approached me out-of-the-blue to ask me to join the few selected for an audience with the Pope.

Nothing profound or extraordinary was said when I did get to meet him.

I conveyed to him respects and greetings from Canada. And enquired after his health. He was kind and gracious and generous.

Earlier, I had brought with me a bronze sculpture - a masterful creation by Canada's Hugh Russell, depicting intermingled icons and imagery from the Catholic and Sikh Faiths - as a gift from the Sikh Community to the Catholic Church to mark and celebrate the New Millennium. It was unveiled on behalf of the Pontiff by Cardinal Arinze.

But, as the rest of the week unfolded, through meetings and discussions, I could not turn my thoughts away from the grand old man who could barely keep himself upright in St. Peter's Basilica with the help of his trade-mark staff.

I meandered through the labyrinths of religious bureaucracy, of mindless debates and heartless logic, and saw the workings of corporate religion at work from real close. Not just of any one faith, but of all faiths. Yet, at the end of it all, I learned to respect and admire John Paul II and the sense of history he exuded - of his spiritual presence and his daring.

He addressed a plenary session and surprised us all by talking about all faiths as leading to the same source and goal. The very first Pope to have entertained such an idea!

With no logic or explanation, I came to the conclusion that this man, though physically dwindling and gradually dying before our very eyes, simply could not, should not resign, as many demanded of him.

You don't resign from life.

Somehow, despite all his challenges and shortfalls, his successes and achievements, he managed to stand out then as, and continued to be - until his death this month - a leader in a world otherwise sadly bereft of true leadership. He met the challenges and needs of his own - Catholic - community so well. And yet, he so effortlessly gave spiritual direction to and inspired those of other faiths as well.

You and I can find a lot to disagree with him, but he somehow still managed to inspire and challenge us all.

His greatest legacy? I believe he made it possible for the future Papacy to move closer to the ideals of St. Francis of Assisi than ever before, and to move away from the traditional template of the Pope-Emperor.

I hope and pray that the 117 'princes' burdened with the task of choosing his successor later this month will rise to the occasion and meet the need of the hour - not just of Catholicism, but of Humanity as a whole.

Amen.

T. Sher Singh is a Guelph lawyer who is a member of the Order of Canada.

This article was also published in The Guelph Mercury, Canada, on April 7, 2005.