Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
On April 3, 2005 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, "Quietly at home, or with heads bowed in church, Americans marked the death Saturday of Pope John Paul II, recalling him as a great leader who combined warmth with moral power, a call to care for the poor with an emphasis on liberty. Bells tolled at Roman Catholic churches across the nation, as they did at the Vatican and around the world. Religious leaders of all faiths spoke out to honor him, as did political leaders. Flags were lowered to half-staff; black bows replaced Easter wreaths at a cathedral in Wisconsin. 'We will always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who became one of history's great moral leaders,' said President George W. Bush, who singled out John Paul's praise for America's Constitution. 'All popes belong to the world, but Americans had special reasons to love the man from Krakow.' Shortly after his remarks at the White House, the president and his wife, Laura Bush, went by motorcade to St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington for a memorial Mass."