Barely a half-hour after news that Pope John Paul II had died, the sanctuary of St. Paul’s University Catholic Center was quiet as the faithful prayed.
Candles glowed on the altar and throughout the sanctuary, mostly young people sat alone or huddled in small groups, heads bowed, hands folded. The silence was broken only by the faint sound of bongo drums from the State Street Mall outside.
The church, near the UW- Madison campus, was host Saturday to workshops for young Evangelical Catholics the age group that many say Pope John Paul II reached very effectively during his 26-year reign.