CNS reports 50,000 at the General Audience today:

"How time flies," the pope exclaimed to the 50,000 faithful who packed St. Peter’s Square for his April 19 general audience as he recalled that exactly one year earlier the College of Cardinals elected him to succeed the much-loved and "the great pope, John Paul II."

He said he was still moved by the memory of appearing at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica right after his election to the cheers of nearly 100,000 people jammed into the square.

The pope said the huge outpouring of support displayed in that and other gatherings "has stuck in my mind and heart."

He said the grace of God and the prayers and help of all people, near and far, have given him the strength to accomplish a mission that "alone I could never carry out."

The pope said seeing the large presence of pilgrims at his public appearances gives him the feeling that the faithful are there with him, helping him. Their presence shows "I am in great communion (with you), and together we can carry forward the Lord’s mission," he said.

Wow. That’s quite a motivator, isn’t it?

More from AsiaNews, with slightly different numbers and translation:

The memory of 19 April 2005 was the first thing he spoke about at the general audience, on the first anniversary of his election. Interrupted no less than seven times by applause from the 60,000 pilgrims present, the pope said: “I recall with emotion the first impression I had as I looked down from the central balcony of the basilica, of pilgrims gathered in this very square; it has stayed in my mind and heart.” This encounter and others recalled today by Benedict XVI have given him the opportunity to experience the truth of what he would say in the inauguration mass of his pontificate. He had said: “I have the strong awareness that I must not carry alone what I would not actually be able to bear”. That is, the burden of the pontificate, in which “the Lord never stops short of assisting me with his indispensable help”. The pope added: “The support of God and the saints cannot be substituted by anything, and your closeness, dear friends, comforts me, you who never cease to offer me the gift of your indulgence and your love. I thank from my heart all those are by my side in various ways, from near and also from far, spiritually, with their affection and their prayers: to each of you, I ask that you continue to sustain me and to pray to God to allow me to be a meek and steady pastor of his Church.”

Rocco has provided a full translation:

The Gospel accounts, which refer to the appearances of the Risen one, routinely conclude with the the invitation to surpass each uncertainty, to face the event with the Scriptures, to announce with Jesus that from death has come eternal life, the source of new life for all those who believe. So it happens, as an example, in the case of Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:11-18), who discoveres the tomb open and empty, and immediately fears that the body of the Lord has been carried away. The Lord then calls her by name, and at that point a profound change takes place in her: her discomfort and disorientation are transformed into joy and enthusiasm. With solicitude, she goes to the Apostles and announces: "I have seen the Lord" (Jn 20:18). Behold: whoever encounters the risen Jesus becomes internally transformed; one can’t "see" the Risen one without "believing" in him. Let us pray to him that he may call each of us by name and so convert us, to take the leap of courage and freedom which makes us shout to the world: Jesus is risen and lives forever. This is the mission of the disciples of the Lord of every age and also of our time: "If you are risen with Christ," exhorts St Paul, "seek the things that are above… think of the things above, and not those of the earth" (Col 3:1-2). This is not to say that we should estrange ourselves from our daily duties, disinteresting ourselves from earthly realities; it means rather to revive each human activity as with a supernatural breath, meaning to make ourselves joyous announcers and witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, who lives in eternity.