Pope Benedict leaves the Czech Republic after final ceremony

Pope Benedict XVI left the Czech Republic Monday evening after a final ceremony with President Václav Klaus marking the end of the pontiff’s first visit to the country. Speaking in Italian, President Klaus said the nation had listened to and understood the pope’s message of mutual understanding and tolerance, his faith and his ethics, and that the pope had brought hope to the nation. Pope Benedict wrapped up a weekend of many speeches with name’s day tidings for President Klaus, who had accompanied him for much of his three-day tour of the Czech Republic, and thanks to the country’s Catholic leaders before blessing the audience in Czech. Pope Benedict was said to be have been very pleased about his stay in the Czech Republic, which has one of the lowest populations of religious followers in Europe. Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardi said that the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics had been impressed by the friendly reception he was given at his public masses, which were attended by larger audiences than originally expected.