What a great blessing it was to be able to participate in the visit of Pope Francis to the United States of America! I had the privilege of joining a small group from Hawaii, then a large group of U.S. and international bishops in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of thousands of people attended — so many that not all could be accommodated in the large venues. Security was very tight, but people were patient and cheerful despite hours of waiting in lines. Even before Pope Francis arrived, there was a wonderful spirit of community and caring. When his entourage passed through the streets, we all smiled when we saw a huge caravan of shiny SUVs and limousines carrying the Holy Father’s security personnel and entourage, while the pope himself rode in a tiny Fiat. It was a statement the pope wanted to make, without using words, about the importance of simplicity in living the Gospel. The week was filled with many such non-verbal proclamations.
We all know that people were electrified by being in the Holy Father’s presence and were inspired by all he had to say in the many venues he visited. All of his speeches and homilies are available on the Internet and are certainly worth pondering again and again. But I would like to comment on three aspects of these extraordinary events that could easily be overlooked.
First, there was the pope’s popularity. President Obama, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court, the United Nations General Assembly, artists such as Aretha Franklin and Andrea Bocelli were present, all great personages who often draw crowds in their own right. But all eyes were fixed on the pope. Why should the Catholic Bishop of Rome draw such admiration and excitement? It could be attributed to Pope Francis’s personal charisma, but when I attended the papal visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States — a man who is an introvert and an intellectual — I recall the excitement being equally high.
When all is said and done, I believe the excitement and the world’s gaze have more to do with the office of the pope than with the person who happens to occupy the Chair of Peter at the moment. The pope is, in a very real way, a sacrament of Jesus Christ: a living, breathing, walking sign of Christ’s continuing presence among us. While many people might not be able to articulate this reality, I am firmly convinced that the pope’s popularity is directly related to the hunger we all have for the love of God manifested in Jesus Christ.
People flocked to see the Vicar of Christ or spent hours glued to their TV sets watching him because they are drawn to Christ. This is worth our meditation and reflection, because all of us who are baptized are to be sacraments of Christ to others. Just as the pope inspired because he is a faithful disciple of Jesus, so we are called to inspire.
Second, the Holy Father’s main reason for coming to the United States was to participate in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. In these days when the family is disintegrating, Pope Francis wanted to come to strengthen the family by his presence and his preaching. The family is the foundation of civil society and of the church, and without strong families both suffer. As the Holy Father said, “It is worth the effort to struggle for the family.” Pope Francis is not naïve about the struggles families face these days, but he wanted to strengthen us all to rededicate ourselves to rebuilding the family as the domestic church, as the first place in which we experience the God who is love.
Third, on every day of his visit — indeed every day of his life — the major event was the celebration of Mass. If our eyes were attuned to see it, we would notice that the pope — this great world leader, who attracts millions of people and who is on a worldwide stage that is unsurpassed by any other world leader — himself bowed down to worship God and to give thanks for the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Father, who is highly exalted by our devotion, humbled himself to recognize that it is not himself that he proclaims but Christ Jesus. And whether the pope is the main celebrant, or the most lowly priest, it is the same encounter with the risen Jesus that is available to us every Sunday and every day.
I thank God for giving me the privilege of participating in these historic events, and I pray that all of us will continue to draw near to the Lord, whom even the pope bows down to worship and adore.
