"Watch the doors!” The voice of the frustrated subway conductor bellowed out of the speakers, but the thick crowds trying to push their way on to the train paid no attention. “If you don’t clear the doors I’m going to take this train out of service!” he threatened. When that had no effect, he added almost pleadingly, “There’s another train right behind us. You won’t miss the pope!”
It was October 2, 1979, and I was part of that great pushing throng of New York City Catholics, all of us on our way to Yankee Stadium for Mass with Pope John Paul II. A few hours later I stood at my seat on the center-field grass as the popemobile carrying the smiling and waving John Paul II made its way along the outfield warning track. Priests around me literally jumped into the air as they shouted and waved back, nuns squealed with delight, all of the sounds becoming part of a raucous roar that surely topped any heard at a World Series win by the Yankees.
Then the noisy welcome turned to profound silence as the Mass began. The stadium’s poor acoustics did the pope no favors, but it didn’t really matter if we could understand all the words. The pope was praying, and we all stood there and prayed with him.
On April 20, 2008, crowds are again expected to fill Yankee Stadium for Mass, this time with Pope Benedict XVI, just as they will fill Nationals Park in Washington the previous Thursday.Some say Pope Benedict XVI isn’t the media star his predecessor was, but so what? Pope Benedict’s visit — just like those of his predecessors Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II — is an important spiritual event for all of us and much, much more than a media spectacle. There is a profound spiritual energy surrounding a papal trip that we would all do well to tap into. It’s an opportunity not only to see and listen to the Holy Father, but to strengthen our connection through him to the universal Church, and to grow closer to Christ through it all.
We hope our stories and special features will help you enter more deeply into the meaning of Pope Benedict XVI’s first pastoral visit to the United States. And I hope you’ll share your stories and feelings about his visit with us. Please write to me at
Catholic Digest, P.O. Box 6015, New London, CT 06320 or e-mail me at
dconnors@catholicdigest.com.
The Reverend John L. Franck, A.A., former provincial and current vocations director of the Augustinians of the Assumption in North America, provided invaluable help to the editorial team of
Catholic Digest in this issue. We are very grateful for his assistance.
CD
