For the third day since I've been in Washington, D.C., the sun shone brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky, but we sure could have used one! Sitting on the ball field in the open sun for four hours gets a bit warm, even with sunblock.
I left the monastery this morning at 6:30 with three Franciscans (two priests and one brother) and three Diocesan priests from various Dioceses who are studying here in the Capitol. Another friar drove us to a Metro stop where we didn't expect to find a crowd of great size, and I'm glad we did!
The train certainly was filled with people, nearly all of whom were going to Mass at Nationals Park. When we exited the train at Navy Station, I think one person stayed on the train. One of the friars joked with her that now she could stretch out and have the whole train to herself.
As it did yesterday at the White House, the crowd of pilgrims moved along fairly swifly and calmly.
Numerous police officers were on hand to direct traffic and help the throngs of people cross the street in orderly fashion, while still allowing vehicular traffic to continue.
Upon reaching the stadium, we priests were directed around to the back side where the press core also entered. After passing through the security check point we went to the President's Club to vest.
On the way there we had to walk through a very long hallway filled with Bishops and Knights of Columbus. I saw my Bishop, the Most Reverend George J. Lucas as well as Bishop Kevin Vann, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Bishop Vann joked with me, "Why am I not surprised [that you're here]?" I looked for Bishop Larry Silva but didn't find him on my way to the vesting area.
I would wager that outside of a Papal event the President's Club is a very nice room, but when it's packed with priests and deacons it's rather chaotic!
Somehow while in the room I lost the friars that I was with; we already lost the other Diocesan priests in the staidum on the way to the President's Club. So I went back through the Episcopal hallway on the way to the field and took a picture with Bishop Lucas.
When I arrived on the field I wandered about looking for priests that I knew, but there were a great many priests all of whom were either wandering about themselves or chatting in small circles.
I couldn't find anyone I knew so I went looking for a place to sit. I found one with a good view of the Papal chair, though from it you could't see the altar becuase of the posts of the "stage" upon which the altar was placed.
About twenty minutes later, a priest of the Diocese of Joliet, who was a couple of years ahead of me in the seminary, came over to say hello and together we realized that the sit I had chosen was part of a bank reserved for priests of the Archdiocese of Washington. Together, then, we went off looking for new seats and chose a few (a couple of other priests were going to join us) in the very last row for concelebrants at the back of the field because I knew that the Holy Father would take a quick tour of the field in the "Popemobile" before Mass.
Our close proximity to the path of Pope Benedict XVI yieled this happy picture:
The Holy Father is currently at the Catholic University of America, so I'll post more later.
No comments:
Post a Comment