Benedict pulls them in

Sandro Magister has the figures for visits to see the Pope at the Vatican in 2006. The total is 3,222,820. This includes the Wednesday audiences in St Peter's Square, masses and the Sunday Angelus. What's surprising is that attendences are more than double those for John Paul II at his most popular. Benedict may not be a showman, but he's obviously doing something right.

Sandro Magister's blog post and the Vatican site (both in Italian).