Walsh Student: Seeing Pope's Retirement is 'Something I'll Never Forget'

Walsh University students and staff had a front row to history as Benedict XVI officially retired as Pope Thursday.

For Allison Cadle, a sophomore museum studies major at Walsh University, it was an unforgettable experience.

"(I allowed) myself to be carried away by the contagious energy and passion of the crowd," Cadle wrote in an email to North Canton Patch. "It is impossible not to appreciate the kind of love that I saw in the faces of people from all over the world. It is something I will never forget."

The Pope Emeritus' resignation took effect about 2 p.m. Eastern time Thursday. This leaves the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church vacant while its leading clerics consider who should succeed him, reported the New York Times.

According to the Times: Benedict left the Vatican by helicopter on Thursday afternoon to spend the final hours of his scandal-dogged papacy and the first of his retirement at a summer residence (in Castel Gandolfo) used by popes for centuries. 

Cadle was joined Thursday by a group of Walsh global learning students who are studying in Italy at the university's campus in Castel Gandolfo.

She further describes the experience below in a Patch Q&A.

North Canton Patch: Did you ever think you'd have this opportunity?

Allison Cadle: Just going to Rome is something I always wanted to do, but wasn't sure would ever actually happen, much less being alive for the historical resignation of the pope and his last appearance in that position. Being able to be present for something that has such a broad impact  was incredible, and incredibly lucky!

North Canton Patch: What was it like to see something so momentous happen right before their eyes?

Cadle: It was like nothing I've ever experienced. Knowing that something great was going to happen while it was happening was overwhelming, all I wanted to do was see everything and try to take it in while trying to figure out what it meant to me.

North Canton Patch: It's the Pope's big day, but Walsh University is in the spotlight, too, because you all got to witness this event. What's it like to share your experiences with big media like MSNBC, BBC, ABC?

Cadle: It was great to be able to talk about Walsh with big media names!

North Canton Patch: Anything else you'd like to add?

Cadle: I am not Catholic or religious at all, and wasn't as personally invested in Pope Benedict's papacy and resignation as many of the friends with whom I arrived in Castel Gandolfo. Prior to arriving in the square, I didn't feel a whole lot of anything other than a mild excitement at witnessing an historic event, but once I walked up the hill over the cobblestones and watched the square slowly fill with people from all over the world, waving flags and banners and smiling, and finally crying at Benedetto's appearance, I couldn't help but smile along and allow myself to be carried away by the contagious energy and passion of the crowd. It is impossible not to appreciate the kind of love that I saw in the faces of people from all over the world. It is something I will never forget.

Did you catch North Canton Patch's Q&A with Walsh's Michael Cinson Friday and Maggie Carlson Saturday?