Our recap of the Pope's visit to Nationals Park

Pope Benedict XVI accepts offertory gifts from a Missionaries of Charity nun at a Mass in Nationals Park in Washington April 18.(CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Catholic Press Photo)   Quick Facts About Today’s Mass • Bishops are wearing brilliant red robes to signify that this is a Mass of the Holy Spirit • 300 priests and deacons will distribute Communion to more than 40,000 Mass attendees in 20 minutes • More than 300 volunteers are helping to direct arrivals, distribute welcome packs, and perform other duties related to today’s Mass • The coats of arms of Pope Benedict XVI and Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl appear on the Pope’s chalice. The chalice itself was made in Spain • The processional Cross appears courtesy of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.

A Catholic Digest Papal Exclusive

WASHINGTON, D.C. — By 7:30 a.m., Jesse and Connie Villarreal of Austin, Texas, were in their seats at Nationals Park baseball stadium. The retired OSHA compliance officer and elementary school teacher were thrilled to be attending this morning’s papal Mass.

"We got up about 4:30 this morning. We thought we were beating the crowds, but by the time we got to the subway, hundreds were there before us.”

Most Catholics in the crowd agreed that the best thing about a papal Mass is seeing so many Catholics come together to celebrate our faith. “I’m so excited!” exclaimed a woman who asked not to be identified. “I feel just like a little kid. I have butterflies in my stomach and everything!”

Thomas Young, a retired State Department employee from Suitland, Maryland, won his tickets in a lottery at St. Teresa of Avila Parish. Not coming to the festivities seemed almost inconceivable to Young. “Oh my goodness,” I am a fourth-generation Catholic! I am very, very active in my church. I call myself a walking, living miraculous testimony of God. Oh, yes, this is my life, honey.”

Farther down in the bleachers, 29-year-old massage therapist Elizabeth Kimball shaded her eyes against the rising sun. “I just really wanted to see it,” she said of the papal Mass. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the pope in your hometown. It strengthens your faith to see so many Catholics in one place sharing your beliefs.”

Homeschooling Mom Nancy Brien of Manassas, Virginia, brought her children, Sarah, 11, and Hugh, 13. “It’s the ultimate field trip,” she explained.

By 8:30, the bishops began their parade onto the ball field at Nationals Park. Their scarlet robes swayed in time to a resounding choir and state-of-the-art, record-size video screen hanging above the outfield.

There was some anxiety among archdiocesan officials in Washington, whose preparations for the papal event were hampered at times because the brand-new stadium was in the final stages of completion as officials themselves were putting final plans into place for Pope Benedict’s arrival.

Positioned just blocks from our nation’s Capitol, Nationals Park was in fact completed on March 30, just weeks before the Pope arrived in America. Including onfield seating, the stadium’s capacity is 42,000. It will host about 46,000 today.

Although the pope was not expected to say Mass until 10 a.m., the stadium was all but filled by 8:30. Video testimonies of faith and spiritual song performance occupied the anticipatory crowd.

Only 103,000 tickets were available for the papal Masses in Washington and New York combined making attendance at today’s celebration all the more coveted. Organizers worked hard, also, to ensure tickets could not spark a resale circus, requiring IDs in addition to tickets for general admittance.

In his homily at Nationals Stadium, the pope was expected to salute America’s growing generations of faith and, in particular, the leadership of Washington’s archbishop Donald Wuerl as well as the growth of the dioceses of Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.

In addition, the pope planned to speak of the need to witness faith in our world and note that this is a time of great promise but also a time of alienation and a coarsening of sociability.

Pope Benedict arrived at Nationals Park at about 9:30 as the choir broke into “Holy God, We Praise Your Name,” a song of German origin and a tribute to Benedict XVI’s Bavarian heritage. A ballpark ethereally transformed into an open-air cathedral, the stadium-church erupted in applause as the pope circled the field.

What Kind of Ride Is the Popemobile? A Canadian Mounted Police officer who found himself working the security detail of Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, at the World Youth Day festival in Toronto in 2002 expressed surprised. The papal seat, he said, is not cushioned and looks uncomfortable. The officer said he was surprised that the popemobile proffered such an uncomfortable ride given the health status and age of the recent popes. He added that the popemobile must be the world’s most uncomfortable Mercedes-Benz.

The 10-by-4-foot altar, positioned on the outfield, was draped in white and gold with a 6-foot gold fiberglass crucifix suspended above the papal chair. As the sun caught the colors, an otherworldly aura enveloped the altar. Four choirs, including a children’s choir, filled the stadium with song while the Capitol dome hung suspended in the distance, just over left field.

Participating in today’s Mass with the pope were 14 cardinals, 250 bishops, 1,300 priests, and approximately 45,000 lay people.

Ten minutes before 10 a.m., the Pope approached the altar to a thunderous Alleluia choir and an enrapt, silent crowd. Smiling broadly, he blessed the faithful on both sides of the aisle before mounting a ramp and taking his place at the altar. Taking up a censor, he blessed the altar and crowd with incense. And the Mass began, “In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit...”

After initial words of encouragement and hope, Pope Benedict directly addressed during his homily the sex abuse scandal of the Catholic Church in the United States.

“It is in the context of this hope, born of God’s love and fidelity, that I acknowledge the pain which the Church in America has experienced as a result of the sexual abuse of minors,” the Pope said. “No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention.”

	Young people attend the papal Mass at Nationals Park April 17 in Washington. (CNS photo/Karen Callaway)

The pope went on to emphasize the need for prayers stemming from such pain, prayers stemming from a need for forgiveness, and prayers stemming from our hopes for redemption.

The crowd burst into applause as the Pope finished his homily by encouraging those present to go forth and be initiators of evangelical hope. Applause exploded again as Benedict XVI launched into Spanish with “some words for our brothers and sisters in the Spanish language.” The emphasis was on hope and addressed the way in which our faith speaks to us of this hope.

While the Pope received the gifts of consecration, a multicultural choir performed “Bienaventurados,” a lively offertory song replete with African drums and pipes.

As the consecration concluded, and with the greeting of peace and Our Father over, 300 Eucharistic ministers — deacons and priests robed in white — swept into the stands and began distributing the Eucharist to the multitude. The extensive operation took place without a hitch, the crowd moving like a wave from the top tiers of the stadium downward toward the field. Accomplished in just over 20 minutes, the operation exceeded its time allotment only slightly.

As the final communicants received, Placido Domingo launched into a rousing “Panis Angelicus.” As the tenor, who serves as general director of the Washington National Opera concluded and approached the pontiff at the altar, he fell to his knees before the Pope to receive Benedict’s blessing.

The crowd enthusiastically received Benedict’s closing blessing and cheered at the words: “The Mass is ended, go in peace.”

Cheering continued as the pope left the altar and proceeded through the crowd, blessing Mass-goers as he walked. Resounding applause filled the stadium as the pope took his final exit. A few in attendance rushed toward the exiting pontiff, but two priests held out their arms in a plea with them to keep a distance, which they then did.

Children began to sing as they made their way to the exits.

By five minutes after noon, the stadium had emptied — in steady and orderly fashion — two-thirds of its crowd. But things were not over for Benedict, who was scheduled to speak with heads of Catholic colleges and universities at 5 p.m. and ecumenical leaders at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and then travel to New York on Friday for more parades, an address at the United Nations, and Masses at St. Patrick's Cathedral and Yankee Stadium.

Then, of course, the pontiff will traveled to New York on Friday for more parades, an address at the United Nations, and Masses at St. Patrick Cathedral and Yankee Stadium.

Outside Nationals Park, meanwhile, a colorful swarm filled the street as the papal audience took leave. Like specks, they filled the street as far as the eye could see. Ten minutes later, people still filled the street, and they were still moving. CD

Kathleen Stauffer is President and Publisher of Catholic Digest.