GERMANY: Pope Benedict's trip home for World Youth Day was inspirational, writes Derek Scally in Cologne
The market for antidepressants would dry up overnight if there was a way to bottle the feeling that washed down the Rhine yesterday evening when Pope Benedict XVI glided into Cologne.
Hundreds of thousands of cheering people lined the river banks, with thousands more wading waist-deep into the water, turning the German pope's arrival by boat into a symbolic mass baptism.
Pope Benedict's expression of amazement and delight was reflected in the faces on shore and around Cologne all day. No mass hysteria, no pushing, just a sea of flags, shining eyes and toothy smiles. The lighter-than-air atmosphere made it feel like a real "Love Parade".
"It's just a big, relaxed party atmosphere," said David Grealy (18) from Salthill. "It's just so surreal to me to see happy teenagers."
As the boats approached central Cologne, just before 6pm, the ebullient Italians became the crowd's cheerleaders on the banks of the Rhine, leading the chants of "Be-ne-det-to" and "Viva Papa" with vigorous, rhythmic clapping.
"It's been such a roller-coaster, but the sheer joy and spirituality of it is incredible," said Fr Frankie Lee of Galway. "I will have to process this for a long time to come." His group from the Galway diocese was flying the Irish flag yesterday, with 30 young pilgrims allowed on to the "European Boat" in the flotilla down the Rhine. Another 30 Galwegians were on the papal boat, and six were invited to sit close to Pope Benedict.
"Friends gave me a hundred thousand rosary beads for him to bless," said Carol Lally (25) from Galway city. "It's such an honour to get on the boat with him, to be near him. I haven't had time to think about it but I will when I get home."
"I must be considered some sort of über-Catholic," laughed Lorcan Price (19), a fellow Galwegian and papal boat-tripper.
As the Pope's flag-laden boat passed, like a floating UN, a wave of calm washed over the crowd. The only disappointed faces were those inspecting their distant pictures of the passing Pope on their digital camera screens.
Not everyone lasted. A Puerto Rican woman was on oxygen and a drip before the flotilla even came into view, while four Italian ladies slept on the river bank wearing beatific smiles, missing everything.
The Cologne natives were full of praise for the young pilgrims. "Where did they get them? Everywhere's so clean, there's no mess, no hassle, just good humour and good fun," said Johanna Regensburger (78).
The plaza between the main train station and the gothic cathedral was a multicultural playground all day. Samba segued into a conga. A multiethnic collection of gleeful faces straight from a Benetton commercial danced by, while an Ecuadorian twentysomething furiously strummed a ukulele.
"It's just marvellous and moving to see such joy," said Anita Küpper, a 73-year-old Lutheran from the nearby city of Brühl. "But I wonder if God intended so much focus on one man?"
Aymeric Fosset (23) from Lille shared some of Ms Küpper's views. "I hope Benedict can become a pastor for his people."