Here it is: proof that Your Humble Blogger was indeed at Yankee Stadium today for the big papal finale.

The fellow on the left is yours truly, from approximately where we sat for the mass.

I’ll post more after my fingers thaw.

You’ll note my hands are in my pockets. There’s a good reason for that. They had lost all feeling.

It was freezing up in the loge, with gale force winds making matters worse. I wish I’d brought gloves. (My wife, the smart one in the family, did. Earmuffs, too.) Some clever people packed blankets and stayed warm that way.

Initial impressions:

+ The sound system was terrible. I trust it sounded better on TV than it did in the stadium.

+ Harry Connick and Ronan Tynan were great. When Tynan sang “God Bless America,” bit by bit, section by section, people began to stand and by the end, the whole place was on its feet and every soul there was singing its heart out. Brought tears to my eyes.

+ We got a neat little souvenir pack when we stepped through the turnstiles: a plastic bag with a copy of Magnificat, a program, a holy card, a poncho, and a yellow or white hanky (for waving at You Know Who).

+ Lines were outrageous. They had to open up a couple of the men’s restrooms for ladies to use. And the refreshment stands? I waited 20 minutes in line for a $4 cup of coffee.

+ When the popemobile first nosed its way around the corner and people caught sight of it, the place went nuts. It stayed nuts for the next three hours.

+ There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like praying the Our Father with 60,000 other people.

+ Communion went surprisingly smoothly.

+ Mass ended around 5, and we made it home — despite the crowds — by about 6:30. God bless the New York subway system.

+ But when all is said and done, it was a thrilling and moving and incredible experience. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

More later!