Tristan Lopus
Graphics Editor
Nearly a week and a half after Pope Francis arrived in the United States for the first time during his papacy, the nation is still buzzing with the excitement of his busy week in America.
On Sunday, a cohort of five Catholics from the College, members of the Newman Catholic Student Association, brought back a piece of that excitement after hearing the Pope’s speeches in Philadelphia. It was, by all accounts, a tremendously moving experience that will long inform and inspire the practice of their Catholic faith.
The Newman Catholic Student Association, a program of the OICM’s Catholic Campus Ministries run through a partnership with the Diocese of Cleveland, is a Catholic student organization that offers all students support and programming rooted in the Roman Catholic religion.
Pope Francis’ visit had been highly anticipated since the Vatican announced his itinerary in late June. Through a joint effort of Newman organizations at seven non-Catholic universities in the Diocese of Cleveland, the Wooster Newman group was afforded the opportunity to send Zoe Hostetler ’17, Kaitlyn Rayl ’18, Minerva Vidaurrazaga Serrano ’18, Marissa Kobylas ’18 and Catholic Campus Minister Nate Addington to Philadelphia to hear the Pope speak.
The original reason for the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia and the United States in general was for the World Festival of Families. The Wooster group was lucky enough to get tickets to the Pope’s speech on immigration and the closing Mass of the festival, over which Francis presided — and it really was luck, as according to NBC Philadelphia, the 10,000 publicly available tickets sold out in a stunning two minutes. As for their lodging accommodations, in true Francis-esque fashion, the group kept it simple and slept on the floor of the American Museum of Jewish History.
For all five representatives, the Pope’s address was deeply moving. Addington said admiringly, “His speeches were filled with hope and gestures of mercy but also strong challenges to better ourselves and the world in which we live.”
For some, the speeches even led to new insights and understandings of their Catholic faith. “Honestly, he simplified everything for me,” said Vidaurrazaga Serrano. “Usually, I feel like many religions have a bunch of rules, but he kept it sweet and simple: be loving.”
It was hardly Francis’ speeches alone, however, that made for such a profound weekend; rather, it was the entire experience of standing among an estimated 1.5 million people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in a large metropolis that seemed to momentarily shut down to listen to the Church’s iconic pontiff address the nation. “There was something entirely otherworldly about being in Philadelphia this past week,” Addington said. He marveled that usually traffic-jammed streets were packed full not of cars but of people praying together, and billboards displayed not corporate advertisements but messages of hope and love.
Moved by the sense of love and unity felt among the crowd, Rayl said that the most memorable moment of the entire trip was immediately following Francis’ address on immigration when the Pope led the entire audience in praying the “The Lord’s Prayer,” a central prayer of Catholicism. “It was very powerful,” she said.
Addington perhaps best captured what was so singularly enthralling about the atmosphere of the event: the novelty of seeing the attention of the nation and the passion of millions so thoroughly arrested by messages of social justice.
“In our society, we give more attention to the latest Kardashian scandal than to taking care of the poor and vulnerable,” Addington said. “To see that reversed, at least for a week, was inspiring and encouraging for those of us that have dedicated our lives to the Church’s mission of social justice.”
Rayl also appreciated Francis’ social justice–focused messages. “He understands that the world is changing and is different than before,” Rayl admired, “but that doesn’t mean that we need to remain chained to the original views, in that acceptance is so crucial today.”
Marisa Quiery ’16, the president of Wooster’s Newman association, cites this emphasis that Pope Francis has placed on social justice as the key spark of the inspiration that he has ignited in many Catholics, especially younger or more liberal ones. “It’s nice to see the leader of the Church trying to make these positive changes and really engage with, I would say, the majority of the Catholic church,” Quiery said, calling those who have expressed disdain for the Pope’s progressivism “a loud minority.”
The intense excitement and inspiration of the weekend will no doubt remain alive in the five group members for a long time, and they will look to channel it into the programming that Newman has planned for the semester. In fact, they have already begun doing so; on Wednesday the group began their Newman Night series on mercy, a Catholic tenet that is central to Pope Francis’ message. Newman Nights are the group’s weekly conversations on elements of the Roman Catholic religion and teaching, with an emphasis on applying them to contemporary issues.
The group welcomes and encourages students of all faiths and beliefs to attend Newman Nights or any of their other programming. For more information on the group, Quiery can be reached at MQuiery16@wooster.edu.