We Love You, Pope Francis!

“We love you, Pope Francis!” someone yelled out as the Holy Father turned to go into the White House Wednesday morning and these are the very words that sum it all up for me.

On the morning before Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope, my dear friend, Diane, and I wondered what name the new pope would take and why exactly there was never a Pope Anthony or Pope Francis. After all, those are two very popular Catholic saint names; half the boys in my family are named Frank, including my dad, brother, and I don’t know how many cousins. Later that day, I switched on the TV just in time to see the newly-elected Pope Francis step onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as my niece texted, “Aunt Laura, we have a new pope and his name is Francis!!!” When he asked the faithful gathered in the square to please pray for him, he touched my heart and I began to fall in love with him.

It didn’t take long for the world to discover what a humble, learned, merciful, compassionate, and different pope we had in Pope Francis. When he was asked a question about gays in the priesthood, he replied, “Who am I to judge?” I was wowed by this statement and understandably so: it’s something you don’t hear too often. He followed that up with washing the feet of the homeless on Holy Thursday, publishing Laudato ‘Si, an encyclical on the environment, easing the procedure for obtaining annulments, instructing priests to absolve women who have had abortions, taking part in diplomacy between the U.S. and Cuba, etc. He has eschewed the fancy red shoes and luxury car favored by Popes of the past as well as the Papal apartment and even carries his own bag. This is my kind of Pope!

The other night, my Uncle Louis and I traded texts about how excited we were about the Pope’s visit to the U.S. and I said I would just love to be in his presence, just to set my eyes on him in person. And, lo and behold, the next morning I woke up to an email from the editor of the Red Hook Star - Revue who offered me a pass to be at JFK when the Pope landed later that day! I spent the whole morning pacing around my house trying to believe my good fortune.

The Red Hook Star-Revue’s Senior Editor, Kimberly Price, picked me up early in the afternoon and we were on our way to an experience of a lifetime, with thankfully - shockingly - next to no traffic. Once we got to the airport, however, we ran into a problem. While we had tickets, we did not have precise directions on how to find the hangar or the shuttle buses to get us to the hangar. After asking a number of Port Authority police officers and airport personnel for directions, we got hopelessly lost. By the time we finally found the parking lot where the shuttle buses were to pick people up, we were told that we had missed the last shuttle! I was beginning to feel heartbroken. But Kimberly said there was no way we were not going to see the Pope. With less than an hour to go before the Pope’s scheduled arrival, she showed her ingenuity and struck up a conversation with a rather dapper, successful-looking gentleman who also seemed to be stranded in the parking lot. It turned out that this man had already placed a phone call to a VIP from the Archdiocese and within a few minutes a black Secret Service SUV with the flashing lights was rushing towards us. We all scrambled in and the car sped off like it was going to fire. We quickly arrived at the hangar, went through Secret Service security procedures, and found our places behind the barricade. Kimberly and I were pretty much stunned by that point and the Pope hadn’t even landed yet!

All those assembled, including a single Hassidic man standing right beside me, scanned the skies looking for the plane transporting the Holy Father and his entourage. Kimberly kindly tried to get me a good spot to stand since I’m considerably shorter than she is. Finally the plane was spotted, it landed, and taxied with the Papal and American flags fluttering from the top of the cockpit. And then the staircase was wheeled into place, the door opened, and there he was, Papa Francesco, emerging from the plane. My heart was racing and, of course, I got choked up instantly (think John Boehner). Trying to take a picture, grabbing my tissues, and taking it all in at the same time, I shouted out with the rest of the crowd, while keeping my eyes peeled on the beloved figure in white.

We had a good view of the Pope coming down the stairs after which he was quickly enveloped in a huddle of school children, security, and church dignitaries. And while the Pope did not come close to our area behind the barricade, he did walk diagonally in front of us to the helicopter. Before entering, he turned and waved his hand over us all which I took to be a blessing.

In reality, the whole day was a blessing: having someone offer me a pass at the last minute, having Kimberly drive me and take charge, meeting the kind gentleman in the parking lot (who was probably a multimillionaire but, on that day, was really an angel), getting a lift from the Secret Service, and, most of all, being in the presence of a Pope who only seems to be concerned about the common good of all, a truly holy man whose eyes light up whenever he sees a child, a Pope for the ages. I will pray for Pope Francis as he humbly asked; I will pray for him everyday!