With her husband, Yuki, by her side, she shook Pope Benedict’s hand.
"He was a very nice, very warm kind of person," Toguchi said.
Like many others who share the Catholic faith, she understands why the leader of her church is willing to step down.
"So, what are you gonna do? You have a lot of responsibility and if you cannot fulfill that, the wisest thing you can do is retire," Toguchi said.
Sister Alicia Damien Lau also had a chance to meet briefly with Pope Benedict. She recalls how after he was presented with a maile lei, guards were then ready to take it off.
"What was really nice was he said ‘wait’ and they did, so he wore it for at least 15 minutes," Sister Lau said.
They remember him as someone with great humility and look at his resignation as a courageous move.
"Knowing his condition, I think someone in his stature to know that the church needs someone who will be able to carry on not him at this present time," Sister Davilyn Ah Chick said.
His followers say the pope was a visionary, a great teacher with a passion as pastor. But they also realize that someone with such power will always be open for criticism.
"There will always be criticism. We’re not perfect. No pope will ever be perfect. We do the best we can, if we make mistakes we try to correct them," Bishop Larry Silva said.
As for the next person chosen as the Pope, those KHON2 spoke to say they are hopeful he will have the spirit as those that preceded him.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
