The Pope’s Visit to Washington
Thousands thronged Nationals Park in Washington for Pope Benedict XVI’s Mass celebration April 17, and thousands more lined up along the streets of Washington and at Catholic University for the chance to see him on his first visit to this country as pope.
Were you among them? Share your thoughts.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I waited for hours on the Catholic University lawn among crowds of people who were determined to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI drive by in his Mercedes-Benz.
One of the most obvious things I noticed, as soon as I joined the long, winding line to enter the university campus, was the diversity of the crowd. It was a mix of families, children, teenagers and adults from Seattle to Washington, D.C., all eager to witness the pope’s first visit as pope to the United States.
People were singing and holding colorful posters in different languages to greet the pope. About 50 people joined a circle to chant and dance to drums and guitars, engaged in a traditional Spanish celebration. They welcomed everyone.
There are about 580,000 Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington, where Mass is celebrated in more than 20 languages weekly, up from seven in 1979. Nearly one-third of local Catholics are of Hispanic descent, according to the Archdiocese of Washington’s Web site.
Waiting on that lawn provided a glimpse of the growing diversity of the nation’s 65 million Roman Catholics, who number more than 1 billion globally– and the Pope’s appeal to people of all nationalities.
–Paula Vasan, Maryland Newsline
May 7th, 2008 at 1:31 am
As one who believes strongly in Christian unity I’m concerned about any sign of separation between Catholic and Protestant. We don’t have to agree on everything, but I appreciate the ability to work together and even worship together on occasion!