Quiet Anticipation

Over the next several weeks I will be sharing with you my experience of the Papal Pilgrimage celebrated in Philadelphia.  Truly, words cannot express the joy and peace which I feel after participating in such a pilgrimage.  I thought I would start off talking with you about one of the things that surprised me . . .the quiet anticipation!

Photo Courtesy of Pam Harriman

When we arrived in Philly, I was awestruck by the number of buses in the parking lot!  The moment we disembarked from our bus, you could literally feel the buzz in the air.  Groups were gathering and walking and waiting in lines and yet the atmosphere was very jovial.  Now everyone’s experience will be different, but from my perspective, it was very peaceful which is hard to image when you contemplate the fact that probably 2 million people were gathered to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis.

So, we arrived Saturday for the Festival of Families.  We did not really know exactly where to go or what to expect going through security.  We were greeted with smiling volunteers; bottles of water; pictures of Pope Francis given out by American Bible Company, along with numerous street vendors selling a wide variety of Pope Apparel.  Even the street vendors were kind (at least Saturday . . .but that is for another blog!)  I was immediately struck by the quiet  . . . the absence of the sound of traffic was amazing.

Going through security was quite an adventure.  Why do we have to carry so much stuff!!!  Oh my goodness, everything had to be opened and inspected, but we got through pretty quickly.  At this point I was once again surprised by the quiet, jovial nature of the crowd.  I guess I was expecting the sound of a football stadium perhaps because of the number of people; but no, everyone talked very pleasantly, sharing stories of what brought them to Philly.

Then we approached a spot along the fence with thousands of others just hoping to get a glimpse of him passing by.  Here too, the air was full of anticipation and people were again sharing stories of what brought them to Philly and groups of people were singing songs.  The closer it came to the time when he was to begin the parade, the quieter people became.  Our eyes were pealed on the jumbotron across the block to see if the parade had begun. 

People were leaning over and standing on their tiptoes (me for sure) and looking left and the crowd grew even more quiet.  And then, it began!  In the jumbotron you could see that the parade did indeed begin and there was a loud roar as the crowd cheered . . . then it once again became quiet.  You knew that he was approaching because the roar of the crowd came toward you like a wave upon the shore.  Arms flew in the air, iphones and cameras and ipads were rapidly clicking away while the crowd cheered.  In a moment it was over . . . I personally, being on the short side that I am, only was able to see the sweep of the back of his cape as I caught a glimpse in between others as their arms lowered. 

Oh then, the joy . . . people were crying and hugging . . . total strangers.  The woman standing in front of me turned around and said “I saw him, I saw him!” and she shared with me the picture that she snapped.

Then the crowd quietly made their way to settle in front of a jumbotron to watch the Festival of Families.  Snacks were had and stories were shared, then we decided it was time to start our journey back to the bus.  In the subway, people were overjoyed and shared if they caught a glimpse of our dear Pope Francis.  On the bus ride back to camp I contemplated all of this and thought of the reasons that brought me on this pilgrimage.  I feel that Pope Francis so embodies the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ and being in his presence somehow makes me feel the wonder of what it will be like when I am actually in the presence of our Lord.  Jesus commissioned the twelve to go out and spread the Gospel Message, and here I was, 267 (I think) leaders later, able to catch a glimpse of the man that God has chosen to lead his Church.  Oh what a wonder.  I can’t wait to share more with you next week.  Until then,

Shalom,

Tina