John Paul II
As the world prepares for the inevitable passing of the Holy Father, I'm reminded of his visit to St. Louis in 1999. I will alway remember the affect he had on the young people who attended his youth rally. The rally began in the morning though he wasn't scheduled to arrive until early evening.
His plane touched down at Lambert Field at around noon. When the image of the Papal plane touching down was shown on the big screen tv, the kids went wild. The noise was deafening. And this was just a television picture of his airplane.
As the time approached for his arrival, the television screen showed his progress as he traveled from the Archbishop's residence to the arena. The closer he got, the louder the kids got. By the time his Popemobile entered the building, the sound was incredible. And it just got louder as the Pope moved from the Popemobile to a golf cart and actually entrered the arena.
No rock star, no sports celebrity, no one ever received a welcome like that! The amazing thing was that the Pope was obviously tired. He had begun the day in Mexico City and was ending it in St. Louis. But, as his strength seemed to wane, the crowd noise would hit a crescendo and you could see the man absorb the energy of the crowd. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The Holy Father and 20,000 kids were drawing strengh from each other. JP was absorbing the kids' physical energy and they were absorbing his spiritual energy. I'll never forget it.
I was priveledged to attend the youth rally and mass the following morning. The third major event was a prayer service at the Cathedral Basilica. I wasn't able to attend that event but planned to watch it on television. I'm almost 30 years younger than the Pope. He arrived at the Cathedral and that's all I saw. I fell asleep. The man was like the Energizer bunny. He just kept going and going and going. Fortunately I had set the VCR so I was able to watch the prayer service later.
When it was time for him to leave St. Louis, arrangements had been made to lift him up to the door of the aircraft with a lift truck. But, he refused the assist, insisting on climbing the portable stairs and waving one last time to the faithful who had gathered to see him off.
He was, and is, a special man.
God bless you, John Paul. As the 20,000 young people chanted over and over at the youth rally, JP II, we love you.
His plane touched down at Lambert Field at around noon. When the image of the Papal plane touching down was shown on the big screen tv, the kids went wild. The noise was deafening. And this was just a television picture of his airplane.
As the time approached for his arrival, the television screen showed his progress as he traveled from the Archbishop's residence to the arena. The closer he got, the louder the kids got. By the time his Popemobile entered the building, the sound was incredible. And it just got louder as the Pope moved from the Popemobile to a golf cart and actually entrered the arena.
No rock star, no sports celebrity, no one ever received a welcome like that! The amazing thing was that the Pope was obviously tired. He had begun the day in Mexico City and was ending it in St. Louis. But, as his strength seemed to wane, the crowd noise would hit a crescendo and you could see the man absorb the energy of the crowd. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The Holy Father and 20,000 kids were drawing strengh from each other. JP was absorbing the kids' physical energy and they were absorbing his spiritual energy. I'll never forget it.
I was priveledged to attend the youth rally and mass the following morning. The third major event was a prayer service at the Cathedral Basilica. I wasn't able to attend that event but planned to watch it on television. I'm almost 30 years younger than the Pope. He arrived at the Cathedral and that's all I saw. I fell asleep. The man was like the Energizer bunny. He just kept going and going and going. Fortunately I had set the VCR so I was able to watch the prayer service later.
When it was time for him to leave St. Louis, arrangements had been made to lift him up to the door of the aircraft with a lift truck. But, he refused the assist, insisting on climbing the portable stairs and waving one last time to the faithful who had gathered to see him off.
He was, and is, a special man.
God bless you, John Paul. As the 20,000 young people chanted over and over at the youth rally, JP II, we love you.
posted by Mike at 9:47 PM
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