By EILEEN WHITE JAHN
You know how it goes: junk, bill, junk, invitation to see Pope, junk, junk. Fortunately, I opened the letter informing me that we were among several lucky St. Agnes families to be invited to his Departure Ceremony at JFK airport.
We gathered up all of the rosary beads, crosses, and religious medals we could find in hopes of getting a Papal blessing for them (I've got a lot of communions and confirmations coming up). We arrived at Holy Trinity High School at 4 pm Sunday. Ten or so coach buses were parked along the drive and a huge crowd of excited families lined up to register. We received Vatican flags: yellow and white, with the pontiff's seal. The ladies each got a similarly fashioned scarf which evoked much holy jealousy among the other attendees when we arrived at JFK. Our caravan pulled into the parking lot of Hangar 19 where thousands of people were debarking. We snaked through various corridors to the checkpoint. There was security everywhere: cops, secret service, and camouflaged-type individuals. My 11-year old daughter had to go through the metal detector three times because I had stuffed her pockets full of rosaries and medals.
Finally, we entered the hangar, glimpsing the tail of Shepherd One waiting out back, engines already running. Various diocesan choirs and bands filled the air with joyous music. It was transformed into a festive, decorative auditorium. The stage was festooned with Vatican and American Flags. Two large monitors flanked it: highlights of the Pope's visit alternated with live scenes. We were about fifty rows back, giving us a great view. The theme was a celebration of diversity, around us swirled the colors of many national costumes. We prayed an extraordinary rosary in two dozen languages.
Finally the screens were filled with the sight of a massive helicopter touching down. Cheers erupted, followed by a hush of anticipation. The minutes dragged by with silence punctuated by sudden screams at the many false sightings. Then, suddenly, the Pope appeared mid-stage, slipping through a seam in the middle of the curtain. The crowd went wild. He stood, tall and white, graciously acknowledging the cheers with his now familiar arms outspread gesture. He looked vigorous and bright - entirely belying his 81 years. Our vice president performed his diplomatic duties with unexpected charm, and then the show was turned over to Pope Benedict XVI.
In the final address of his "Christ Our Hope" apostolic journey to the United States, Pope Benedict's voice was strong, his tone warm. He spoke only a few minutes. As throughout his entire visit, his message was one of hope. He asked us to pray for him, and I will. This man, our Shepherd, came to our country, which is home to at least 60 million Catholics. He told us that we are not to be so materialistic, that we should be diplomats not warriors, and that we should not abandon traditional teachings in favor of more worldly ways. But he told us this in the context of Faith, Hope, and Love. His very presence exuded these virtues. Instead of feeling chastised, we felt inspired.
He left, just minutes after he arrived. The secret service made us sit around for 45 minutes, probably just because they could. The exit was excruciatingly slow with all 4,000 of us channeled through an eight foot corridor which ended in a three foot doorway. Instead of grumbling, the crowd was cheerful. On the long walk out we realized that there had been no official papal blessing. We wondered about the status of our medals and beads. Were they blessed? Someone pointed out that the Pope had ended the speech with "God Bless America." We all agreed that that was enough. The religious items were blessed, and so were we.
Eileen White Jahn is a professor and department chair of business at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue. She lives with her husband Chris, and their six children, in Rockville Centre.
