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BY ERIKA ANDERSON
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--As a busload of 67 St. Pius X High School students pulled out of
the school parking lot Jan. 26 for St. Louis, most were unaware of the profound
impact an encounter with Pope John Paul II would have on their lives.
Jenny Karns, who serves as a campus minister at St. Pius along with Connie
Cleveland, said the students could not help but be touched when they had the
opportunity to hear and see the pope during his two-day visit to the U.S. Pope
John Paul II was in St. Louis Jan. 26-27, meeting primarily with youth, as part
of a papal trip that began in Mexico Jan. 22. The students were able to take
part in a Mass celebrated by the pope.
“Their response was amazing,” Karns said. “An encounter with
the Holy Father can only completely shatter you and hit you right in your
core.”
Accompanied by Father John Hopkins, LC, school chaplain, and other adult
chaperones, students made the bus trip overnight, leaving the school the
evening of Jan. 26 and arriving in St. Louis at 4 a.m. Jan. 27. Through the
office of Archbishop John F. Donoghue, the school was able to acquire coveted
tickets for the pope’s visit.
Disappointed at first to learn that the tickets were for a convention center
where they would view the pope on a large screen rather than at a stadium where
he would speak in person, those who made the pilgrimage were thrilled when he
rode through in his popemobile, coming within a few feet of them.
“We could have been anywhere, but we were in the back corner side
seats,” Karns said. “They were so perfect. He rode within a couple
feet of us and we got an unbelievable close-up view of him.”
Students like sophomore Alicia Eakin were touched by that first glimpse of
the pope.
“Twelve hours in the bus with no sleep was definitely exhausting. Then
at 3 a.m. we stopped at a rest stop while 50 of us tried to cram into a tiny
bathroom to get dressed,” she said. “Following that big ordeal, we
waited for five hours to see the pope. At first I was bummed because I had the
end seat and then to my great excitement, the pope rode right by me. I was two
feet away from him.”
“We were so grateful for the closeness to him,” Karns said.
“There was not a dry eye. Everyone was so deeply touched. We’d driven
through the night and hadn’t gotten there until 4 a.m., but there was
still so much energy and fire in everyone and the spirit was just
unbelievable.”
Freshman Natalie Brubaker said she never dreamed she would see the pope in
person.
“When I saw (him), I felt like I was being swallowed into the depths of
compassion,” she said. “I could see how hard it was for him to take
the crowd, the camera flashes and the shouts of joy. You could see, though,
that although it was hard, he was still strong, because of his deep
understanding and dependence on God.”
Natalie Molnar, a junior, was also touched by the pope’s strength.
“The only thing between me and the Holy Father was the barricade,”
she said. “When he rode by I saw the weariness on his face and it really
brought home the fact that he’s human just like me and if he could have so
much faith and strength then so can I. I was truly awed by his presence and
will remember it for the rest of my life.”
The highlight of the trip was Mass celebrated by the pope. Because they were
in the convention center, the St. Pius group was able to get a close view of
the pope via a large screen.
“I have never felt the way that I felt during that Mass,” senior
Asley Jones said. “I was so completely moved that I feel that my entire
life has been shaken.”
For many other students, being part of the Mass and in the presence of the
pope was a life-changing experience.
“This has been a year of conversion for many of them and their hearts
have just been so opened to Christ,” Karns said. “They were able to
encounter Jesus Christ himself who instituted the office of Peter and be a
couple of feet away from the successor of Peter,” she said.
“It’s Christ himself reaching out through the pope and touching these
kids.”
Senior Erin Sellers said the trip strengthened her Catholic faith.
“This trip increased my prayer life in a way I never thought
possible,” she said. “Not only did I get to stand 15 feet away from
the Holy Father, hear him speak about real issues in his homily and receive the
Eucharist at his Mass, but I got to experience the incredible feeling of
Catholic unification. People came from all over the country and I could feel
the love and the Spirit in the room.”
Sellers said that she believes more in the power of prayer.
“I learned that the most valuable weapon in the world is not war, guns
or bombs, it is prayer,” she said. “I had always heard it, but now I
truly believe it. When I used to pray, I honestly said the words and believed
them, but now I have this incredible sense that something comes from them.
Knowing that my prayers and those of others can cause change and make the world
less evil and more loving is power.”
The biggest change, Sellers said, has been in the way she views the church.
“I used to view the church as the past and present. Personally I love
history and I’d always loved the idea of being part of a church that dated
back to Jesus. Currently I’ve always loved how the church strives to
uphold the importance of life, no matter what society dictates,” she said.
“Now I look at the church as the future, and while I’m scared, I feel
like I have a part to play in it.”
The group arrived back in Atlanta around 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28. Though it was a
quick and at times grueling trip, Karns said that it ran smoothly because of
the students.
“Their enthusiasm, their cooperation, their lack of complaining and
their helpfulness was so wonderful,” she said. “It really made things
easy.”
Karns said that she and the other adults who made the trip are thankful for
the generosity of the archbishop.
“I am incredibly grateful to be associated with an archbishop and a
school who would facilitate and support and encourage us,” she said.
“I am just so grateful and humbled to be here at St. Pius and in the
Archdiocese of Atlanta.”
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