This morning I had the great honor of seeing Pope Francis after his address to Congress. This opportunity meant so much to me and I will always be grateful to MN Senator Amy Klobuchar for donating the tickets to my Alma Mater, St. Ben’s. How fortunate that I was able to get one of the 14 tickets she donated! I’ve been lucky to have seen two of the most beloved Popes in person: Pope John Paul II in Rome in November of 1999 and now Pope Francis in 2015. Special thanks to St. Ben’s for orchestrating both of these memorable events.
There were 22,000 tickets given out to the event (50 for each congress-person). Security was tight. There was an outer perimeter that only ticketed folks could get through and then an inner perimeter that you had to be security-screened to go through. I was impressed with both the efficiency of it, as well as the consistent presence of security forces.
I arrived at the address shortly before it started, so I wasn’t exactly close. But then again, I never really thought I could compete with the crowd who got there at 5 AM when the gates opened. Despite being far back, all that really mattered was that I had a direct line of sight to the balcony where the Pope was reportedly supposed to come out on after his address (spoiler: HE CAME OUT!!!)
The Pope spoke to congress for close to an hour. My 3 favorite sections of his speech were (FULL ADDRESS HERE):
“I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreamsâ€. Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.”
“In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.”
“We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you†(Mt 7:12). This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.”
Around 11 AM the Pope wrapped up his address and shortly thereafter appeared out on the balcony of the Capitol. He only stayed up there a mere 5 minutes, but that was plenty to rev up the crowd.
I’m walking away from my Papal encounter today with a desire to take more ownership for what I can control in the world and to stop believing that I can’t do anything. I hope that wherever you are in the world, you’re feeling called to serve as well, in whatever capacity you’re most able. I get tingly thinking of just how much change we could affect if we all just believed that we could make a difference. Today was one of those great days when I’m so proud to be a Catholic!
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