Faithful excited to be part of papal Mass in Washington

Published: 2008-04-17

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The tumultuous applause that greeted Pope Benedict XVI at the beginning of the April 17 Mass in Nationals Park was indicative of the excitement of the faithful at attending the first public U.S. Mass celebrated by the pope, who is concluding his third year as pontiff. The cries, shouts of acclamation and waving of miniature Vatican flags that accompanied the popemobile's lap around the baseball stadium close to a half-hour before the Mass came as close on the decibel scale as the ovation accorded the beginning of Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl's welcome message to the pope. An estimated 46,000 Catholics -- about 5,000 more than the baseball park's official capacity, thanks to white folding chairs placed in the outfield near the temporary stage for the altar and sanctuary -- assembled for the Mass. Each person had a slightly different story of how they got their tickets and how they got to the stadium. But nearly all shared in the excitement of being at least some part of the first papal Mass in the nation's capital since Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass for an estimated 170,000 on the National Mall as part of his first U.S. visit in 1979.

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