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Papal Visit Experiences
Katie Miller's Experience
I would like to thank you profusely for getting me tickets to see Pope Benedict. It was the experience of a lifetime. He spoke wonderfully and it was nice to hear his thoughts and also to have him appologize for the church scandal. It was also nice to sit with people from Michigan and talk to people from so close to what I used to call home.
I don't know how to thank you enough for helping me with this. I am forever greatful for this experience of a lifetime.
Thanks again, Katie Miller
Joan Burch's Experience
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Washington D.C.
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.
- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Sr. Frances Nadolny's Experience
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Washington D.C.
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."
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.
- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Nancy Pelc's Experience
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Washington D.C.
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.
- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Barbara Middleton's Experience Thursday, April 17, 2008 Washington D.C.
For Barbara Middleton, a member of SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish, Sterling Heights, Thursday 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.
"I'm enjoying it," she said of the trip. "This has been a great experience for me. I want to be near him. I want to hear what he has to say."
-- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Sallie Marie Hinz's Experience
Thursday, April 17, 2008 Washington D.C.
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 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."
-- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Paul Long's Experience
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Washington D.C.
Paul Long | 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 morning. 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.
Not only was it special to him as an American to be invited to the White House for the event, but even more so that he got to be a part of greeting and welcoming the pope to the country, Long said. He was planning on attending Mass at Nationals Stadium Thursday morning and going home later that day.
-- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
Richard Thibodeau's Experience
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Washington D.C.
Richard Thibodeau | Also in the audience for the South Lawn welcome ceremony 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 s 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 mentioned helping the less fortunate a number of times, and that called to Thibodeau's mind the Serenity Prayer, especially the part about asking for God to grant "courage to change the things I can." After all, the downtrodden are the ones that are most in need of God's mercy, caring and healing, Thibodeau pointed out, and especially relevant to his work of helping people recover from addiction.
"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.
- Kristin Lukowski, The Michigan Catholic
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