Pope Paul’s historic trip was the calm before the storm, writes Andrew O’Connell
When Pope Francis arrives in the US later this month, he will be setting foot on US soil for the first time in his life. Over six days he will visit New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
His trip marks the 50th anniversary of the first-ever visit of a Pope to the States. On October 4, 1965 – the feast of St Francis of Assisi – Pope Paul VI made a day trip to New York to address the United Nations.
Pope Paul’s visit has a special place in the annals of papal travel. It was the furthest the Successor of St Peter had ever travelled from Rome. In order to keep the focus of the trip on the Pope’s peace message at the UN, it was also the briefest of visits, lasting only 14 hours. It became known as “the Pope’s longest day”.
Paul VI rose at 4am in the Vatican and celebrated Mass in his private chapel before boarding an Alitalia flight for a 5.30am departure. He arrived at JFK Airport shortly before 9.30am local time where he was welcomed by the UN Secretary General, U Thant.
Over two million people lined his 20-mile motorcade route to Manhattan. On the way, he surprised students of Rice High School, a Christian Brothers interracial school in Harlem, handing over a personal message from his car.
After visiting St Patrick’s Cathedral he met President Lyndon Johnson at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and was introduced to the President’s 18-year-old daughter, Luci, who had converted to Catholicism earlier that year.
His visit to the UN that afternoon has been remembered ever since for his dramatic plea, “Jamais plus la guerre!” (“Never again war!”)
In his homily at an evening Mass with 90,000 people at Yankee Stadium, the Pope didn’t downplay the significance of the visit. “This is the day which we have desired for centuries!” he declared, using the papal plural. “An historic day,” he added, “for it recalls and crowns the long years of the evangelisation of America!”
On his way to the airport Paul VI stopped at the Vatican Pavilion at the World Fair which was displaying Michelangelo’s Pietà, shipped from Rome especially for the exhibition.
Before he boarded his 11pm return flight to Rome, the Pope spared a mention for the media, acknowledging that their labours are “often hidden and go unheralded”.
The 68-year-old Pope held up well during the whirlwind day but he was carrying a heavy burden. Progressives at the council were already likening him to Hamlet and some had dubbed him “the Pope of buts”.
The New York Times noted, “the dark eyes under bushy brows seem to have sunk deeper, the pale ascetic but kindly face to have taken on new lines of strain”.
Though he was in New York to promote a message of peace, it’s likely that he was also praying for peace in the Catholic Church which was about to enter a period of great upheaval.
Papal Tweets Some parish newsletters are now publishing Pope Francis’ tweets. It’s a good idea. Not everyone is on Twitter and his brief messages can be thought provoking.
The Pope’s Twitter account has a policy of not deleting negative responses. For instance, after Pope Francis tweeted, “Lord, help us always to be more generous and closer to poor families”, another user replied: “You know what else would help poor families? Unfettered access to birth control and abortion.”
It’s an interesting policy and predates Pope Francis. Opposing messages, some of them nasty, have remained undeleted since Pope Benedict’s first tweet in 2012.
Rose of Tralee
The cynics may scoff but the popularity of the Rose of Tralee was confirmed again this year with total viewing figures of 1.7 million.
There were multiple references to faith again this year. The Queensland Rose, a 25-year-old Irish woman, spoke of her work with the Catholic evangelisation team, Net Ministries; the Abu Dhabi Rose, a Donegal native, described her experience in Medjugorje; the Rose from Derry plans to teach RE and the winning Meath Rose, Rose Elysha Brennan (pictured), visited Lourdes with sick pilgrims.
It demonstrates that faith continues to play a prominent part in the lives of young Irish women.