WARSAW, Poland – Mourners flooded the streets of Warsaw on Saturday carrying flowers and lighting candles following the death of Pope John Paul II in an outpouring of grief and admiration that was repeated around the world.

World leaders and people from every continent and many faiths found something in the life of the pope to praise – his inspiration for the resistance to communism in his Polish homeland, support for better relations with Muslims and Jews, or championing the cause of the poor.

Feelings were intense in Poland, where the Church of St. Anne in the heart of the capital could not hold all those wanting to pay their respects to the Polish-born pontiff. Several thousand knelt outside in prayer.

Bells tolled worldwide after the announcement that the pope had died Saturday, ending a long struggle against debilitating illness.

In Paris, the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral sounded 84 times – once for each year of the pontiff’s life.

Although his death had been widely expected since a recent series of medical problems, the passing of the pontiff after 26 years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church overwhelmed many of the faithful.

At St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, worshippers dropped to their knees and wept when news of the death was announced as hundreds of candles flickered.

At the Cathedral of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Olga Sanchez, 42, knelt on a pew and wept softly into a handkerchief.

Zora Valcic, a 54-year-old saleswoman from the northwest city of Pula, Croatia, couldn’t hold back her tears. A blessing she received from him at the Vatican “made my life so much fuller and nicer. I’ll be eternally grateful for that.”

World leaders echoed the admiration.

“The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd. The world has lost a champion of human freedom,” President Bush said in a brief televised statement from the White House, with his wife, Laura, at his side.

Colombia’s President Uribe declared a period of national mourning and ordered flags across the country to fly at half-staff. Brazil’s President da Silva declared seven days of national mourning.

French President Chirac said history “will retain the imprint and the memory of this exceptional sovereign pontiff.” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the pope will be remembered “as a distinguished religious figure, who devoted his life to defending the values of peace, freedom and equality.”

Even Spain’s ruling Socialist party, which clashed with the pontiff over gay marriage, abortion, and divorce, issued a statement calling his death a loss for Catholics and the international community, saying he “was one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century.” Kneeling in a pew facing a large picture of Pope John Paul II surrounded by tall white candles and flowers in the San Juan Cathedral in Puerto Rico, 23-year-old bakery worker Fabiola Quezada clasped her hand and moved her lips in silent, fervent prayer.

“He’s the only pope I’ve known, he’s been my father through difficult times, the next one may be a great man, but it won’t be the same for me,” she said.

Quotes from the around the world about Pope John Paul II:

* “We all feel like orphans this evening.” – Vatican’s Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo Sandri.

* “Quite apart from his role as a spiritual guide to more than a billion men, women, and children, he was a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue, and a strong force for critical self-evaluation by the Church itself.” – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

* “It is the emotion of losing a grandfather, like losing a living stone to which we have clung for so long.” – Monsignor Patrick Jacquin, the rector of Notre Dame.

* “Throughout a hard and often difficult life, he stood for social justice and on the side of the oppressed, whether as a young man facing the Nazi occupation in Poland or later in challenging the Communist regime. He never wavered, never flinched, in the struggle for what he thought was good and right.” – British Prime Minister Blair.

* “He promoted interfaith understanding and dialogue, with a willingness to address the past, and a profound determination to build a future of understanding and brotherhood between all faiths.” – Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.