By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel
April 20, 2008
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/1_pope_080421.txt
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Melitta Heli, left, and Caroline Fyffe from St. Anne's Catholic Church, stand at the entrance to Nationals Park shortly before seeing Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday. The pope's red flag hangs on the right. (Courtesy Photograph) |
Two members of St. Anne's Catholic Church got the thrill of their lives Thursday, when they were in the same stadium as Pope Benedict XVI.
"It's the closest thing to Jesus on earth," Caroline Fyffe said.
Fyffe, who lives in Lockeford, and Melitta Heli of Acampo flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and saw the pontiff two days later. It didn't matter to them that they were in the upper deck in the left field corner at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium while Pope Benedict spoke from an altar just in front of the center field fence.
They said they felt a closeness to him, even though he was as small as a dot. They could see him full size through a large screen in the stadium.
"You would never call him a rock star, but he exudes that magnetism," Fyffe said of the pope. "Can you imagine (the feeling of) 49,000 people saying "Amen?"
Or 49,000 people saying "The Lord's Prayer" together?
Heli, a St. Anne's member since 1976 and a member of the Daughters of Isabella, acquired the free tickets through the Stockton Diocese.
"To me, it was a spiritual pilgrimage," Heli said.
Heli visited the Vatican in 1999, when she got a long-distance blessing from the late Pope John Paul II.
Fyffe had been to Rome twice, but missed out both times in her effort to be blessed by Pope John Paul.
After a full day of sightseeing at the monuments and other landmarks in Washington, D.C., Heli and Fyffe were up at 5 a.m. Thursday. Heli's son and daughter-in-law, who live in the Washington area, allowed Heli and Fyffe to take their church's bus to the Metro Train, which they took to Nationals Stadium. They arrived at 8 a.m.
Security was very tight with security guards all over the place and helicopters circling overhead, Fyffe said.
Mass was two hours long, but they were in the stadium for six hours. The concession stands used during baseball games were also open for the Pope's appearance. Fyffe and Heli also got to mingle with other people, all with different spiritual stories to tell.
And they brought home a pile of souvenirs, including a program of the event, a portrait of the pope and the pope's picture on a key chain. The pope blessed the picture and key chain, Heli said.
"It was all very draining, but it makes you want to go out and talk about it," Fyffe said.
Both St. Anne's representatives said they support Pope Benedict's comments about his sorrow for the clergy abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in recent years.
"I think he was really forthright," Heli said. "He didn't beat around the bush. I really felt he was really sincere. I think that makes a difference. I know a lot of Catholic people have been hurt, and a lot of non-Catholic people."
Fyffe added, "It's just a very unfortunate thing that a whole society that when you turn the TV on, it is everywhere. Even the (sexual abuse) victims that he met with, they were so touched, they could see the sincerity in his eyes. His story never changes like a politician's."
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
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