For Pittsburgh newlyweds, a series of unfortunate events

Published: 2005-02-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II gets sick, millions of people pray for him, and thousands of people can end up losing a special chance to see him. But the pope's Feb. 1 hospitalization and the cancellation of his Feb. 2 weekly general audience were particular blows for Americans Valerie Pajak and Gus Glyptis. The couple missed an opportunity for a papal blessing and a wedding photo with the pope -- for the second week in a row. Pajak and Glyptis were married Jan. 22 in St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh. In planning their honeymoon, they had three goals: visit Krakow, Poland, where her grandparents came from; visit Greece, where his family's roots are; and visit the Vatican. Pajak said her father told her about Pope John Paul's general audience practice of personally offering his blessing to Catholic couples who have been married less than two months. "It made a big difference in how we planned our trip," Glyptis said. But the honeymoon plans kept falling apart; "I wondered if I had a black cloud hanging over my head," the groom said.

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