We have bid farewell to Benedict XVI amidst global expectation. His helicopter left surrounded by flashbulbs, microphones and television cameras, tweets and blog entries. He has been "another media pope". His impressive bequest , like all great intellectual legacies, will take decades to assimilate. It includes theology, but also Canon Law, Philosophy, law, politics and Economics. In these lines I will focus on explaining to what extent the Pope is a reference point for communication and the media that should be studied further.

The complexity of communication in such a diverse organization with so many "spokespersons" is fascinating. Reaching 1,181 million faithful and 5,065 bishops is a formidable challenge on a global scale. In any case, religion and the Church are of the utmost informative interest. They are source of literary "best sellers", programs with audiences in the millions, videos widely circulated on network, Twitter accounts with thousands of followers. In these times of fragmented audiences and mass attention, media demand and coverage is assured. Questions raised by the Church and religion are at the center of public opinion. As we have seen these days, when religion is discussed, the audience increases.

The value and media visibility of the Pope received a considerable boost during the pontificate of John Paul II. The media echoed his multitudinous encounters with the people. It is not surprising that he gave them singular attention and that they were powerful loudspeakers for his message. John Paul II considered the media as his allies. The media visibility of John Paul II has continued with the pontificate of Benedict XVI, who has found himself until his last hours as Pontiff on the front page of digital and print editions and opening television news programs.

Many have pointed out that John Paul II was a great communicator but, according to conventional theory, Benedict XVI has not been such a "media Pope". I intend to show, without claiming to be exhaustive, that this view does not seem to be supported by the facts.

When Joseph Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich in 1977 (at the age of 50) he was already the most important theologian of his generation. The international media knew him well. His Introduction to Christianity had sold tens of thousands of copies, an exceptional phenomenon for a theological book. Then came extensive interviews with journalists such as Vittorio Messori and Peter Seewald that caused a sensation. The interview-books became best sellers published by the most prestigious publishers on the planet. report on Faith (1985), Light of the World (1997), God and the World (2000) and Light of the World (2010) were revolutionary books, where Joseph Ratzinger answered without hindrance or censorship the most difficult questions about the Church and the world. He did not ask questions in advance nor did he refuse to answer what was put to him.

Then came Jesus of Nazareth, another best seller publishing house (in three volumes). The Pope also gave extensive interviews to Bavarian public radio and television stations such as the BBC and the RAI (it should be remembered that John Paul II was never interviewed by a television station).

In June 2011 News.va, the Vatican's new portal , appeared, another step into the age of the web, Facebook and YouTube. On December 3, 2012, the Pope's Twitter account was presented in Rome. On December 12 the Pope wrote his first "tweet". At the time of this writing, the main English account has almost 1,600,000 followers and totals almost 3 million in its 9 language versions (Latin included). At Christmas 2012 he marked another milestone by publishing a article opinion piece on Christmas in the Financial Times, one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world.

Benedict XVI has been another "Pope of the media". He has conversed with public opinion in a creative, original, profound, frank and constant way up to the very moment of his farewell yesterday at Castelgandolfo. The Pope, the Church and the questions they raise are on the front page, on television and on network of our "global village". We will continue to live (and study) it live.