Meeting Pope John Paul II

Contributed by Kyle Debelak

Pope John Paul II was named Pope of the Catholic Church on October 16, 1978. Born as Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Poland, Pope John Paul II came to the New York metropolitan on an official pastoral visit from October 4 to October 9 in 1995. During his visit, he said mass at Giants Stadium and visited the United Nations. While he was in New Jersey, Pope John Paul II held a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark. My parents attended that service, and this is their account of that day.

Interview: 

Below is an interview of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Debelak, about attending the prayer service officiated by Pope John Paul II at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark.

How did you get the tickets to attend the service?

Mom: We were given the tickets by the Archdiocese of Newark. We were excited, honored, and blessed that they were going to attend a prayer service presided by Pope John Paul II. We were surprised when we arrived and discovered that we were 6 rows from the altar.

Dad: Because I was a member of the parish at the cathedral, I called the rectory and asked for two tickets because we couldn't attend the mass at Giants Stadium.

Who else attended the prayer service?

Mom: President Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary Clinton attended along with some of his cabinet, including Secretary of Health Human Services Donna Shalala, UN Ambassador to the United States Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. In addition, Bob Hope was there. There was also the large international media presence. We were constantly asked when someone entered the church if that person was of significance. Interestingly, cloistered nuns and monks were given special dispensation to attend the service.

Were there any differences in the service from an ordinary prayer service?

Mom: The most amazing thing about the service was that it was very informal. There were nuns and priests standing on pews cheering as if it were a football game or a rock concert. I thought it would be very formal. There was a lot of tradition and symbolism, which I didn't understand completely. The altar was full of Cardinals. There was also a lot of security, especially given the number dignitaries there.  For security reasons we also had to be in the church three hours before the service started.

Dad: There were television screens in the church that showed the pope landing at Newark Airport.  We had to go through metal detectors at another location, and then board a bus in a secure location that we took to the church.

How memorable was it?

Mom: One of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was also memorable for when Pope John Paul II elevated the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart to the Cathedral Basilica Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. We encountered people whose paths we don’t typically cross.

Dad: It was very memorable, and surreal. I asked myself if it was really happening sometimes. You don’t see that many government dignitaries in one place at the same time. We were also two rows away from the Clintons! I also remember the amount of Cardinals that were there.


For more information on Pope John Paul II, see:

John Paul II. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 8. 2^nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. p287-290. Word Count: 2689

http://www.biography.com/people/john-paul-ii-9355652

https://www.ewtn.com/johnpaul2/index.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/