Exceptional encounters with the Pope

Two encounters

Courtesy Anali Mapa-Drilon

I was lucky to have two close encounters with Pope John Paul II –- first as a child in St. Peter's Square when his Popemobile stopped in front of our family, and second when our multimedia team presented to him a CD-ROM we made about him (the first CD-ROM ever about Pope JPII, so it was a big thing for the Vatican!). I remember his huge hands clasping mine -- they don't look so large in the photos, but to me they seemed like bear paws, warm and fuzzy and all-encompassing that my hands disappeared in them. He had such an aura of joy and goodness emanating from his presence. He told us to keep it up, to keep doing good things. It was such an affirmation of the work that I was doing. The experience of meeting him moved me deeply and I will treasure those memories as long as I live.
--Anali Mapa-Drilon, Manila, Philippines

Passing by in the slow lane
Back 25 years ago, Pope John Paul II visited Chicago.  My brother-in-law, a Chicago Police Officer, told me if I left work at precisely the moment he called and told me to leave, I would have the opportunity to see the pontiff as his motorcade drove from O'Hare Airport to downtown, on the expressway.  As I headed west hoping to see John Paul heading east, I pulled over, stopped the car and waited.  Sure enough, within moments the pope passed by! He was in the back seat of a limosine that had been specially lighted so the light shown down on his beautiful face.  The limo drove at a slow, steady pace, which allowed me to wave and blow a kiss to the Pope. He beamed right at me, smiled and waved.  It may sound uneventful to some, but I will remember that face, that smile, that wave and that feeling that even with a cement meridian and a limo between us. I had just been in the presence of holiness.  I will remember and be grateful for my "passing" meeting with the pope for the rest of my life. 
—Diane, Schaumburg, Ill.

I met him as Karol Wojtyla, I cried for him as the Pope
I first saw the future Pope in 1976, when I went to the "Polish Day" at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia. I traveled on a bus with members of two Polish parishes in Utica. It was led by a local parish priest who had gone to the seminary with Karol Wojtyla in Poland during World War II. Cardinal Wojtyla was the main concelebrant and the preacher at the Mass. I caught a glimpse of Cardinal Karol as they walked at the end of the procession of Bishops and clergy following the Mass. When he became Pope two years later, I saw him on TV and exclaimed, "Hey-I know who he is!" I also saw him three times as Pope. He passed right by me in the Pope mobile at the start of the audience in St. Peter's Square in November 1979. I got a great picture of him as he passed by! In 1981, I saw him at the Audience Hall. When he passed by, I leaned over and yelled out, "Holy Father!" But with all the noise going on, I don't think he heard me!
—Barb Finnegan, Utica, N.Y.

Dog sledding with the Pope
When the Pope came to Anchorage in 1981, I decided what a better way for him to get a real sense of Alaska than to give him a ride with my sled dogs!  Plans were all set to drive him on our Park Strip where he was going to be meeting with the people of Anchorage.  But because of security concerns, the ride was shifted to the airport where I was to take him to his plane by dog team.  Once he reached the airport, I was to drive him to his plane.  When the pope appeared, I was standing at the back of the dog sled. I had the dog team harnessed and a professional dog driver standing beside each pair of dogs.  After I was introduced, I had an idea:  “Your holiness, would you like to drive the dogs and let me do the riding?”

He smiled quizzically and looked at the archbishop before answering.  The archbishop said, “If Vaughan says its safe, it’s all right with me.”  “What must I do?” his Holiness asked.  “It’s very simple.  You stand on the runners and hold these handlebars, and I’ll do the rest.  You just ride along to the plane.”  He stood on the back ready to go.  I said, “Your holiness, there’s one thing I feel that I should tell you before we start.  Two of my dogs have terrible names and I don’t want to offend you if I have to call out their names.”  He waited for a minute and said, “What are their names?”  “One is Satan and the other is Devil.”  He thought a few seconds, and then he smiled.  “No don’t take them out — just as long as I’m doing the driving.” 

It was a rare privilege for me and I’m blessed to have had the opportunity.
—Norman Vaughan

A huge honor
I worked on World Youth Day '93 in Denver, Colorado and though not a Catholic, I always felt that there was something very special about him.  I was so impressed at how he greeted the delegates of all 57 countries represented in their native language and at how well he seemed to relate to everyone regardless of their age.  At the end of his visit, he requested an audience with the World Youth Day staff and he thanked and blessed all of us.  At the time I was too young to understand what a huge honor that was.  His passing has made me realize what an impact he had on the entire world, to people of all religions, as well as just how extrordinary the whole experience truly was.
—Jay Chais, Los Angeles, Calif.

Great to be young
It was, as I recall September 1987. The Pope had come to my university, the University of South Carolina, to address students. I was not, at the time, a particularly religious person.  But this was world-fame that landed in a small Southern college town; it was big-time. There is still a stone set in the sidewalk to commemorate where he stood and spoke.  The plaque quotes the Pope, "It's great to be young...it's great to be young and a student at USC".  He was so friendly and his eyes were so alive. It was as though he was looking at each and every one of us, even though there were hundreds around the area.
—Anthony Wrifford, Columbia, S.C.

Giving a country new hope
The year was 1983, I was 14 years old, and in Nicaragua, the Sandinista revolution had pretty much destroyed any semblance of illusion, hope, and expectations for the future of the nation.  My brother was dead, and the youth of the country was faced with a stark choice, to fight for the communist government, via a draft, or to fight against it, with the Contras. All political opposition had been crushed, and in the midst of this desperation, of this suicidal youth march, we are told that Pope John Paul II would visit Nicaragua. As a non-practicing Catholic, I was aware of who the pope was, but I was not prepared for the enormous impact this man, with his humble yet forthright countenance, would unleash on the totalitarian regime. That day, the pope held mass in front of over one million faithful, the mass of people completely awestruck and in trance, for nobody had ever meant so much to so many. On that sunny afternoon, He was the voice of justice, reason, hope and love, to a depressed youth, that had lost faith in the future of a nation. John Paul II gave Nicaraguans a reason to hope, a reason to live, and a reason to continue the fight for freedom, against totalitarian rule. On one sunny, warm, afternoon, and in one fell swoop, this pope gave us back our faith, and let us know that freedom is God's greatest gift to mankind. As he well put it:  "Be Not Afraid".  May God hold you in his stead, John Paul II, forever.
—Lionel Quinteros, Cape Coral, Fla.

Special moment in Santo Domingo
When the Pope John Paul II visited Santo Domingo for the second time in 1984, My grandmother a devoted Catholic made us cut palm leaves form her garden and made us stand in line in front of her house (she was planning to simulate the events of Palm Sunday), we were 14 kids and our mothers, we waited for hours under the hot sun for the pope to pass by, when he finally did it we saw in disbelief as the pope stood up from his seat in his car, looked at us and gave us his blessing, we started to cheer and cry full of emotions, what a humble man! A memory like that will stay in my heart forever.
—Giselle Rivera de Farisello, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Pope in the Village
I remember seeing the Holy Father in October, 1979, while a student at NYU. It was a rainy day and word spread through the college that the Pope's motorcade was to turn from 5th Avenue on to East 8th Street in Greenwich Village en route to a tickertape parade down Broadway and a ceremony at Battery Park. There weren't that many people on the corner of East 8th and Fifth, so I was pretty much right at the curb. As his motorcade turned and past, he was wearing his red Papal "sombrero" and was being shielded with an umbrella by the late Terence Cardinal Cook. The Holy Father was quite young then and what struck me was the ruddiness of his complexion. He smiled and waved his hand in the fashion of his Apostolic blessing. I am certain that our eyes met as he smiled and I applauded him wildly. I was like walking on air for the remainder of that day. He was a saint among men and I know he is at peace in the heaven of our Father.
—Mike Veras, Staten Island, N.Y.

‘Being in his presence was breathtaking’
When my daughter was attending college during her sophomore year in Rome I had the opportunity to visit her and attend the Holy Father's Wednesday outdoor audience one beautiful spring day. Through the intervention of close friendBein who knew a Swiss guard my husband and I were able to obtain some very good seats near the Pope. One of the images that will always remain with me is of him bestowing his blessing upon recent brides and grooms. As so many people have expressed, just being in his presence was breathtaking!
—Donna Andrews, Oakton, Va.

Bigger than life
I was a young police officer assigned to his visit to Chicago many years ago.  Me and several of my fellow officers were very close to the altar on the lake front.  I found his presence somewhat overwhelming.  A month after my retirement twenty five years later I was at the Vatican and I felt that same presence.  This man was bigger than life.  I only hope my eight children can experience a person like him.
—Richard Schak, Chicago, Ill.

Ol' blue eyes
While on my lunch hour in Manhattan, I stood at the curb to see the Pope's motorcade and catch a glimpse of the Spiritual Head of the Catholic Church on his way to the United Nations.
As his car passed , it stopped, and he distinctly made eye contact with each person standing there. Looking into his clear blue eyes, I knew that I was feeling the spirit of love embodied in Christ's representative on earth. He was a man of the people of the world, who lived, suffered, loved and endured in the name of the religion that was central to his life. The Pope is dead. Long live the Pope, John Paul the Great!
—Irma Caiazzo, Las Cruces, N.M.

Goodbye rain, hello sun
When he came to Yankee Stadium in New York City so many years ago I was there with my ten year old son who had just become an alter boy at our parish. The weather was horrendous with wind and heavy rain. As we waited for the arrival of Pope John Paul an announcement was made on the loud speakers for all of us to pray that the weather would clear for the Pope. The thousands of us prayed outloud and to ourselves and as the motorcade approached and the rains continued to beat down we all felt sad. They stopped outside the gate and seconds before Pope John Paul entered the rain stopped, the sun shown through the clouds making the rain on the field glitter like gold. It was absolutely breathtaking and you could hear the gasp from the crowd for what we had witnessed. The Pope came through the gates and the sun continued to shine. When he left and went out of the gates the rain came down. I will never forget that day and I will forever remember the beloved Pope John. Although he is no longer of this earth I think of all of the gloriously happy people in Heaven rejoicing in his coming home. May he rest in peace.
—Kathy Pallotta, Morristown, N.J.

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