Pope Benedict XVI hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium today as 58,000 fans cheered as he rounded the base paths like the late great Babe Ruth.

They say if you can make it here you can make it anywhere — well the Pope didn’t just make it in New York, he made it in America, not just among Catholics, but among all faiths and people.

As it should be in a ballpark early in the opening of the mass at Yankee Stadium, a voice bellowed from behind home plate, “we love you Benedict,” and the congregation erupted with cheers the likes of which this stadium only hears when the Yankees win the World Series.

During his Homily, the congregation broke out in applause when the Pope called for the sanctity of life and its core value, “to protect the unborn in a woman’s womb.”

Earlier in the day the Pope went to ground zero at the site of the World Trade buildings to bless the grounds and pray for the the 3,000 victims who lost their lives on 9/11 and to meet with some of the families who lost loved ones.

“We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died here– the heroic first-responders: our fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001,” the Pope said to the small gathering.

He went on to say, “We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.”

He asked God to, “Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly fo a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.”

During his 6 day visit to the United States the Pope was hosted at the White House by President Bush and some 12,000 persons, including a group of children who sang Happy Birthday to him; he prayed with his Bishops, held mass at the Nationals’ DC stadium before 40,000 people; met with and apologized to the victims who suffered sexual abuse by Priests; he spoke before the UN asking for power to the people; visited and bonded at a Jewish synagogue; held a mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, visited with children at St. Joseph’s Seminary where he prayed with some 25,000 faithful.

He concluded his visit today with a blessing and prayer at ground zero concluding with a mass before 58,000 at Yankee stadium.

Pope Benedict comes off as a humble and intellectual man who seems to want all to think rather than feel and often asks for the prayers of the people, because he too admits to and knows of his own faults.