Day 1: Pope Benedict speaks to reporters aboard Shepherd One

He's coming!

Associated Press, filing its report from the airborne Shepherd One [picture], has the first coverage: "Vatican officials selected four questions to be read by the journalists to the pontiff aboard the plane."

BBC Quotes him as saying: "It is more important to have good priests than many priests."

The pope usually conducts a press conference aboard the plane when he on a long flight. There had been some talk that he might cancel it this time rather than go through what happened in Brazil again - where a comment of his sparked a frenzy of (confused) debate and reaction, which in turn distracted from the focus of his visit.

Not so this time, however, and judging by this first filed report, it looks like it went well. A good start, for sure.