Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Local people say meeting pope 'moving experience'
Local people say meeting pope 'moving experience'
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published Online April 25, 2008
Editor's note: The following local people shared their experience of seeing Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to the United States.
Welcoming Ceremony
Paul Long, vice president for public policy of the Michigan Catholic Conference, the Church's public policy arm, was one of thousands of people trying to get a good view of Pope Benedict XVI as he was officially welcomed to the United States by President George W. Bush on the South Lawn of the White House Wednesday, April 16. He said he especially remembered how the pope spoke about the goodness of America and the prayerfulness of its people, and how we're called to live a life to fight for what is true.
The pope said he'd pray for America, and that we'd always be strong and free "and a beacon for justice in the world," Long remembered. "It was a very special morning," he said. "It certainly was moving for many people."
Shortly after the event, which began at 10:30 a.m., Long was watching on television screens the Holy Father leave for his next event, a birthday lunch with cardinals. The lawn was very crowded with estimates of 12,000 people, and other parts of the morning included musical performances by the United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps and a fife and drum band, among others.
Also in the audience for the South Lawn welcome ceremony April 16 was Richard Thibodeau, executive director of the National Catholic Council on Alcoholism and Related Drug Problems. He's also a staff member of Guest House, Inc., a treatment program for priests and religious suffering from addiction, which has a center in Orion Township.
Thibodeau arrived at his daughter's home in the D.C. suburb of Crystal City, Va., Tuesday. He said that on Wednesday morning there was a double line to get into the gates by 7 a.m., although they didn't open until 8 a.m. "It was a great honor for me to be there," he said shortly after the ceremony. "It was just a beautiful, moving experience."
Thibodeau said he was about 100 feet from the podium, and had a pretty good view until a contingent of older Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts gathered in front of him. Not far from where he was standing was a gathering area for bishops to stand and he recognized Bishop Walter Hurley, formerly of Detroit and now of Grand Rapids, and Bishop Joseph Imesch, formerly of Detroit and now of Joliet, Ill.
Thibodeau said it seemed to him that the pope was concerned for the poor and downtrodden, as well as those who serve them.
"He really put hope in the eyes and words of the people there," he said. "I think that he brought a sense of hope to everybody."
Thibodeau said he got the impression that the pope carries a lot of worry, as he's leading the Church in a time when there's such a need for peace. "I'm sure he takes his mission so seriously," he said.
Nationals Park Mass
Nancy Pelc, a member of Sweetest Heart of Mary Parish Detroit, attended Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 17, with her husband and sister. She said she had fantastic seats, although she was still in the stadium two hours after Mass had ended.
She talked about the strong feeling of Church family throughout the stadium, and how Pope Benedict XVI is the head of that whole Church family. "He said so many incredibly moving things," she said. "It was heartwarming. It took your breath away."
Pelc said that Pope Benedict had also taken some time to kiss a baby, which helped show that he is a real person and not just a figurehead. She said she'll take back with her how because people tend to be so caught up in their lives, they tend to lose sight of what's really important. "The bottom line is our faith is the most important thing," she said.
Pelc's husband, Gilbert Pelc, said he also enjoyed seeing a performance by tenor Placido Domingo. What stuck out most to him was the pope talking about being true to your faith and living your faith, he said.
"It was quite an awesome thing to see and to witness," he said.
For Barbara Middleton, a member of SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish, Sterling Heights, Thursday, April 17, was her the second time in His Holiness' presence, although the first time, in 2001, he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
She got to spend some time with him then, but this also special because she got to see him not only as pope, she said, but in her own country. "It was really, truthfully, an honor to be there," she said.
She remembered that Cardinal Ratzinger was kind and gentle, and although Thursday's Mass wasn't anything close to a private audience, those traits still came through, she said. The theme for the day seemed to be hope, she said, and although the pope touched on other subjects, she remembered that the message always came back to hope.
After Mass Thursday at Nationals Park Middleton was headed to the John Paul II Cultural Center, for a meeting between Pope Benedict and with inter-religious leaders.
"This has been a great experience for me. I want to be near him. I want to hear what he has to say."
Sallie Marie Hinz, a member of Divine Savior Parish, Westland, said that not only was the weather perfect, at about 80 degrees, clear sky and a slight breeze, but Nationals Park looked beautiful Thursday, April 17, with its decorations and flowers.
The Mass itself was "extraordinary," she said, and she took away its message of faith and love, how we need to work for peace, how we should strive to be more Christ-like, and how Christ is our hope.
And if seeing the pope wasn't enough, she said Placido Domingo's performance of "Panis Angelicus" brought tears to her eyes. "Even the Holy Father enjoyed it very much," she said.
Hinz said she appreciated how everything was well-organized, and how the music represented the diversity of all people in the American Church. Because it's such a moving experience to see the pope, she said, it will take some time for her to contemplate and process everything he said. She saw Pope John Paul II in Rome, and she got the same feeling then that she had Thursday. "Nothing compares to seeing the Holy Father," she said. "He's actually, truly a holy man, and you can feel it when you're in his presence."
Joan Burch, of Corpus Christi Parish, Detroit, attended Mass at Nationals Park Thursday, April 17, and joked that she overdressed, since she's from Michigan's cooler weather. Burch also attended Mass when Pope John Paul II visited the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, and got to take communion from his hands, and this experience had the same feeling about it — although she couldn't explain what that feeling really was.
"The whole service was so warm and joyous," she said.
At the Mass, she met people from St. Florian Parish, Hamtramck, as well as from Saginaw and Troy. She found that many others were friendly and helpful, and was impressed with how orderly Mass was conducted — the crowd of 45,000 had all received communion within about 20 minutes, she said.
Although Burch would have liked to see more minorities and the Knights of Peter Claver, an African-American men's service organization, represented at the Mass, she appreciated that there was a nod given to other languages and cultures. She was still carrying so much excitement with her a few hours after the Mass that although she got off at the wrong Metro stop, she was so uplifted that it didn't bother her.
Meeting with Educators
Sr. Frances Nadolny, OP, director of the Department of Education for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was among the crowd of several hundred Thursday evening, April 17, when the pope addressed Catholic educators, including heads of Catholic colleges and universities at The Catholic University of America in northeast D.C. Although she was anticipating that the educators would be in a large, sports-arena type venue, it ended up being a smaller group, and she sat in the third row directly in front of the pope. She doesn't know how she ended up getting such a good assigned seat, she said.
"It was absolutely wonderful," she said. "It was quite moving."
During the speech, the pope talked about the Catholic Church in America's commitment to education, and how that commitment is the responsibility of the entire Church. He also personally thanked educators and catechists.
"He had the highest praise for Catholic education in the United States," Sr. Nadolny said.
As the theme of the pope's visit is Christ our Hope, he came back to that several times during his address, as well, as faith, truth and community and practicing what we know to be more like Jesus. For Sr. Nadolny, that made her feel like educators in the Archdiocese of Detroit are doing the right thing, she said. "It was very affirming," she said. "We (educators) were coming together for something special."
The presidents of University of Detroit Mercy, Marygrove College, and Madonna University also attended the session. Beforehand, the pope greeted a large number of Catholic University students who had gathered on the lawn, which "delighted" them, she said. As a souvenir, she took home a copy of Pope Benedict's latest book, "Jesus of Nazareth," a gift from the meeting.
Youth Rally
SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary Dean of Human Formation Fr. Miroslaw Król was one of several staffers who took 32 seminarians to the youth rally Saturday, April 19, just outside of New York City. "The seminarians were thrilled," he said. "It was a great event."
Things were business as usual back at the seminary Monday morning, after the group came back into town Sunday night. Although it was a whirlwind trip with a lot of driving and everyone was physically tired, they were spiritually excited and happy, he said — and one seminarian had said that even if he failed his exams, it would still be worth it, Fr. Król said.
"He was received like a rock star," Fr. Król said of the pope. "It showed the desire and hunger of the young people to hear from such a person like the Holy Father where to go" in their lives.
"Young people are looking for direction."
Fr. Król said the pope addressed vocations, and encouraged the crowd to live their faith daily. He also appreciated that the pope discussed his own life as a young man in Nazi Germany, and how although it was a difficult time for him, even in the face of evil people can still choose Christ.
"To hear the word of God from the Peter of our time was affirming to our faith," he said.
When the Holy Father took the stage, their group sang "Happy Birthday" to him in German, and the pope applauded them and told them their German was good. Although it was a large crowd, and there were long lines, there was little complaining from the people.
Fr. Król said he prays that the seminarians are holier and faithful to God and to the teachings of the Church because of this experience.
Brian Buckley, a Sacred Heart Major Seminary seminarian who is serving his internship at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Livonia, went to the youth rally with two other adults and four youths from the parish, as well as youth groups from St. Genevieve, Livonia, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Plymouth, and St. John Neumann, Canton. He didn't return to town until after midnight Monday morning and still had to wake up only a few hours later to start his day, but he said although it was hard, it was worth it.
"It was pretty amazing," he said. "It was a blessing the pope came to visit here."
Not only was the pope's visit a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but the fellowship among the group on the way there was amazing, too, he said. The pope's message of hope helped encourage his own vocation to the priesthood, he said.
Deacon Luke Willenberg, a SS. Cyril & Methodius seminarian, said he was honored and privileged to be one of the 25,000 people attending to hear the pope's message of hope at the youth rally — and that it was an important step in his formation, as he gets closer to being ordained a priest. "It was a very strengthening experience for me," he said.
He said although it was a tiring weekend, it was worth it.
The main thing that Adam Kotas, also a SS. Cyril & Methodius seminarian, said he's taking away from the experience was that his view of the pope has changed. He said before the trip, his image of the pope was one of a doctrinal enforcer. "When we got there, here's this very compassionate, gentle, loving, smiling, holy man," he said. "It kind of turned upside-down my entire perception of him." "I could not think of a better person to lead our Church," he added.
Kotas, who has two years yet before being ordained a priest, saw a lot of excitement in the young people who were attending, which helped reassure his commitment to the Church. "You could really see the Church alive, and see the future of the Church in those young people," he said.
Yankee Stadium Mass
David Sr., Marie, David Jr., Jillian and Peter Calcaterra, of Grosse Pointe, attended Mass at Yankee Stadium Sunday, April 20. David Sr. said seeing the pope gave him chills.
"It was the most moving experience of my entire life," he said. "He truly is filled with the Holy Spirit."
The family got to see the pope pass by on Fifth Avenue, and were so close they could see his face, Marie Calcaterra said. They were next to a man from Tokyo who, although he was not Catholic, still had tears streaming down his face after the pope went by — and David Sr. knew that man was filled with peace, he said.
Although people were cheering before and after the pope went by, while he was passing in front of the crowd everyone was quiet, as if they couldn't believe it, he said.
David Jr., 17, a student at University of Detroit Jesuit High School, said although he's seen the pope plenty of times on television, it was different seeing him in real life. "I can't describe it," he said.
Marie Calcaterra said because everyone had to be in their place hours before the events started, everyone chatted with who was near them while they waited. The day flew by, and even the children enjoyed it, she said.
"It was even more than we anticipated," she said.
The family attends St. Paul on the Lake Parish, Grosse Pointe Farms.
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