By John Norton

See osv.com/papalvisit for timely, accurate news

"I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life."

Those were Pope Benedict XVI's words from a video message to Americans, in anticipation of his visit.

And now, after nearly a week, the pope is scheduled to fly home this evening, Sunday, April 20, on Shepherd One, his chartered Alitalia airliner.

If you've reached a sense of media saturation, or you're still trying to make sense of it all, I encourage you to visit our website: www.osv.com/papalvisit.

Our coverage is complete and accurate, including news analysis by Greg Erlandson and Russell Shaw, some of the finest minds and best pens in the Catholic press. And for some inside perspective and "color," as we say, read the blog to which Mary DeTurris Poust, contributing editor, and I have been posting.

By the way, for all of you who left prayers on our online "web of prayers" for the visit, Pope Benedict noticed. In his pre-trip video message, he said:

"I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all.

"Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavours would achieve very little," the pope said. (See our papal visit webpage for a link to the video.)

Here at the newsweekly, we took this papal visit seriously, assigning more than half a dozen reporters (self included) to cover the various events in person.

In several events, we actually planned double or triple coverage. (One example is Pope Benedict's meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House. My attendance credentials were as a journalist, but Greg Erlandson, OSV president and publisher, and Paul Thigpen, editor of OSV's The Catholic Answer magazine, received invitatations to attend as guests.)

Our center pages today feature an extremely useful "graphical" itinerary to assist you in following coverage of the papal visit. And it might be something you want to save as a memento.

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A story you're likely to hear about in the coming week is Earth Day, celebrated April 22.

In this issue on Page 3, Gerald Korson explores what Pope Benedict has said about stewardship of the environment.

Much has been said about the Vatican's recent purchase of carbon offsets and installation of solar panels. Some in the mainstream media have gone so far as to dub Benedict "the green pope."

If this is not an issue you normally follow closely, and maybe even if it is, I think you'll find some surprises in what the pope has to say and his motivation for urging better care of the earth God has entrusted to our care.