Papal Visit, Part II

Exhaustion took on new meaning Sunday morning as we got ourselves packed up and back on the train to Center City, this time to attend the Papal Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I couldn't even imagine how a Mass would go (logistically and otherwise) with tens of thousands of people in the congregation!

As a side note, it was so strange to experience Philadelphia with so many streets closed to vehicular traffic.  We were routed and rerouted all over the city throughout the weekend (and probably walked more than 10 miles a day when all was said and done), but to be able to walk right down the middle of the street - without fearing for your life - was bizarre.

Also, walking down the middle of the street with a K-9 SWAT team.  Go Grandpa!

The lines to get into the reserved area on the Parkway were much longer that morning than they had been the day before. Fortunately, the gate we came in was further off the beaten path, and from what we later understood, had some of the shortest lines that day.

Scoping out our spot for Mass (photo credit: Carlos Medina)

Passing the time until the papal motorcade (note the huge pallets of water to the right- Wawa donated it so no one had to pay for water!)

Spending time with some friends from church, the Yates and Medina families

We got a coveted spot along the fencing this time. The Derry-Ronna-Goodwillie-Medina crew.

Can you spot our group?

Joergen and Grandpa, each passing the time in their own special way :)
Photo credit: Carlos Medina

  

Photo credit: Carlos Medina

Toni and Liam (with Pauline in the background) watching movies on the Parkway
Photo credit: Carlos Medina

As we waited for the motorcade to pass by, the crowds got thicker and thicker, and our group started to get more compressed toward the security fencing. We noticed a couple pushed right up against us who had no tickets or credentials around their necks, and when they saw us wearing ours, they asked us about them.  "Didn't you need them to get into this area?" we asked.  And then they told us their story.

They had traveled here on a bus trip from California, where they were following the Pope throughout his US visit. With no tickets to anything, all they had was the bus ride and a lot of hope.  This morning, they had gotten in a line to get into the general admission viewing area of the Parkway, but the security checks were thorough and slow.  The line was probably a dozen people wide and stretched for over a mile.  A police officer saw the situation and knew that the line would never move fast enough for all these people to get through the gates in time for Mass, so he ushered as many people as he could out of the line and redirected them to the Reserved Area gate that we had entered several hours earlier.  Tickets, shmickets-- let these people go to Mass!  The couple was totally incredulous and weren't sure how they even ended up here-- they just trusted this officer and went with the flow.  By the end of their story, Nana just hugged the woman. 

(I can't imagine what other circumstance could have ever brought together so many diverse people, sharing their stories and hugging each other.  Truly a world meeting of families!!)

Right before Mass was scheduled to begin, we got to see the Pope come by again with his motorcade. 

A much better view this time around. Seeing Pope Francis was so exciting and inspiring!

After the Pope went by, a few people from our group, including Liam, ran over to the other side of the Parkway loop to see him come by again.  The crowd was much thicker this time (and we didn't have the benefit of having saved a front-row spot), so Liam couldn't see a thing.  A young woman was standing nearby turned to him and said, "Kid, I can't see anything either, so how about I put you on my shoulders so you can see, and you hold up my camera and capture it on video. Deal?"

Deal :)
Photo credit: Carlos Medina

Although I couldn't have imagined how a Mass could be celebrated with thousands and thousands of people, I was pretty amazed to find out.  No sooner did the opening hymn begin when all around me, people just fell to their knees.  After the hymn, it was silent.  Everyone was so incredibly respectful and reverent-- it was actually quite beautiful!

I also couldn't have imagined how in the world Communion would be distributed among thousands of people, and frankly, I didn't expect to receive.  This ended up being my favorite part of the Mass. Hundreds of priests and ministers dispersed through the crowds, each with a partner holding a yellow and white umbrella. They seemed to multiply as they spread out around the Parkway, and it almost reminded me of the candlelight spreading through the congregation at the Easter vigil.  Without printed or verbal instructions, the entire Parkway immediately understood: find the nearest umbrella to receive.

Photo credit: Carlos Medina

It was a beautiful Mass.  You can read his homily here (we all did when we got home that night- it wasn't said in English and it was hard at times to read the captioning!).  

Photo credit: Carlos Medina

Photo credit: Carlos Medina

It was exhausting and exhilarating and given the opportunity, I'd do it all over again.  I'm so grateful we got to share this experience with our children, our parents, and our godchild.