Prayers amid blazing candles

They came to grieve for the man who for 27 years had given spiritual inspiration to millions.

Amid prayers, votive candles and a mood of intense sadness, Catholics across London gathered to pay their respects to Pope John Paul II.

A crowd of more than a thousand filled the pews for Sunday evening Mass at Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge, where Father Michael Lang described the Pope's death as "the end of an era".

He said the atmosphere at the church since the news on Saturday had been "prayerful but collected".

"I have been quite amazed at how many people have come to pay their respects. Every service has been packed," he said.

Banks of candles in the church were filled to overflowing as one mourner after another lit a flame in memory of the pontiff, who died after a long battle with illness aged 84.

At a service at London's largest Polish church, Our Lady Mother in Ealing, so many mourners came to pay their respects that more than 100 spilled outside and strained to hear the priest's words of comfort. Many fell to their knees and cried. Father Pawel, who led the service, said Poles felt a special bond with the former Archbishop of Krakow.

"He was the father - a real father to all these people. They loved him like a father," he said. "There is a deep feeling of loss, but also a great Christian hope."

"I feel sad, we've lost a great man," said Krystyna Andrzejczyk, 49. "The majority of people, not just Catholics, say he was a great man - he tried to bring peace to the world." Ludwik Maryniak, 81, who moved to Britain during the Second World War, said: "He is the greatest man in the history of the Roman Catholic religion. I am so very proud that Poland produced such a man.

"Especially for people like me who fought in the war - we realise that belief is such a great thing."

From the very young to the elderly, mourners celebrated mass in remembrance-of the pontiff. Rita Mac-Callan, 83, said: "I think he was a saint, and I'm devastated we have lost such a marvellous man."

Members of London's Italian community were also out in force to remember the Polish-born pontiff, whose reign at the Vatican was the third longest in history.

Mario Brachioli, a 31-year-old architect from Ladbroke Grove, said: "John Paul II was my pope. I am Italian-so I grew up very close to him, both physically and spiritually."

"This is a very sad moment, but he was a very sick man and we should be glad that his suffering is over."

Andrea Falini, a 47-year-old banker from Belgravia, had brought his 10-year-old son Victor. Mr Falini said: "We have come to express out gratitude for everything the Pope has done for us. He brought a new style to the role, and took the word of God to those suffering around the world.

"I am Italian, so I have to confess that at first in my ignorance I was a little sceptical about having a Polish pope. But now I just thank God there was a pope like John Paul II."

Prayers were also said for the Pope during evening mass at Westminster Cathedral on Sunday.

Almerinda Cocoelho, 71, from Victoria, said: "He meant something to everyone, everywhere. He travelled the world and really brought people together in that way - no other pope had done that."

Eight-year-old Katrina Morton, also of Victoria, said: "The Pope was like a local priest to me. He felt like a father." Her mother, Sarah Morton, 34, said: "We're all feeling very emotional. We've come to say goodbye, to light a candle and to remember the great man he was."