Chicago Tribune: "Pope Benedict Hottest Ticket in Two Towns"

The pope -- hottest ticket in 2 towns, by Manya A. Brachear. Chicago Tribune March 7, 2008:

It doesn't matter to Rev. Charles Fanelli that Pope Benedict XVI lacks the panache of his predecessor John Paul II. The vicar of Christ and pastor of the Catholic world does not need charisma to draw a crowd.

That's why Fanelli, who has seen not one but two of Benedict's predecessors, hopes to be one of the few, the proud and the doggone lucky to win permission to see the pope.

"I admire his teaching so much," said Fanelli, 62, pastor of St. Thomas More parish on the South Side. "He really speaks so well to the Western world. He just hits it right between the eyes. I'm sure he's going to say something very important to the North Americans. It'd be nice to be there when he says it and see how he says it."

For most Catholics, a mass celebrated by the pope is the chance of a lifetime. Since he became pontiff in 2005, Benedict, 80, has traveled mostly in Europe. His only overseas travel was to Brazil last year. That said, the papal visit will likely be his only trip to the U.S. during his papacy.

That has many Catholics still chasing tickets for two of the pope's appearances. . . .

* * *

Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese of Washington, said a majority of tickets to Nationals Park have gone to the 140 parishes in Washington and neighboring dioceses in Maryland and Virginia. Other dioceses received tickets based on the number they got from New York and the poignancy of their personal appeals, Gibbs said.

For example, more than 20 faithful from Fargo, N.D., will attend the pope's mass in Nationals Park, among them 16 youth and chaperons from the Ft. Tottem Sioux Indian Reservation who could not raise enough money to travel to Rome or Australia where Pope Benedict XVI will host World Youth Day.

Teresa Hefland of St. Francis Borgia said she looks forward to attending mass with the masses. Though she saw Pope Benedict last year as part of a smaller audience in Rome, she said the crowds will serve to remind the pope's flock of the church's unity. She described the pope as "a magnetic force" that will draw the American faithful together to pray.

"Being with brothers and sisters brings us closer together," she said. "There's no one closer to God than the pope."

Kathy Siniawski of St. Thomas More agreed. To her, it's impossible to separate the power of the pope's presence from the intensity and devotion of the crowds who come to see him.

"We're very blessed to have him as our pope," said Siniawski, who will take medals of St. Thomas More, her parish's namesake and St. Rita, patron saint of impossible cases, to be blessed by Benedict. "We're blessed to have him walk on our land. Blessed that he's coming to New York to bless us all."

Monastery Greetings offering 'The Pope's Cologne'

New Cologne Honors Papal Visit Christian Newswire: March 7, 2008:

To honor Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the United States, Monastery Greetings is now offering The Pope's Cologne. Monastery Greetings is a "one-stop-shop" service that brings together hundreds of monastic products, including gifts, music, books, soap and body care items, and, of course, delicious foods -- from abbeys, convents, monasteries and hermitages throughout the United States and the world over. Monastery Greetings helps them support themselves.

Monasteries are famous for their Old World recipes made with whole ingredients. Examples include creamy fudge from Brigittine monks, melt-in-your-mouth pralines from Benedictine nuns in Texas, whiskey cakes from Trappist monks, chocolate and candy from Trappistine nuns in Massachusetts, and Nun Better Cookies from the Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Cleveland, Ohio.

Monastery Greetings also handles mail order of Trappist Preserves (28 different jams, jellies and preserves made by Trappist monks in Spencer, Massachusetts) and has the largest selection of Trappist Fruitcake anywhere.

The Pope's Cologne is made in the United States from the private formula of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878). The recipe was faithfully followed by Dr. Fred Hass (who happens to be US Poet Laureate Robert Hass' brother) and, therefore, the longevity is also authentically that of a perfume from that period.

Ceremonial Dagger stands between Sikhs and the Pope

Symbol could stand between Sikhs and the pope: Secret Service calls the Kirpan a threat to leaders' security, by Manya A. Brachear. Chicago Tribune March 7, 2008:

Sikhs won't be allowed to join other interfaith leaders in a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI unless they remove a central article of their faith called a Kirpan. . . .

Sikhs wear a small sword called a Kirpan, which symbolizes the Sikh commitment to resist oppression and injustice. The knife is one of the five Ks, symbols of Sikh ideals including honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God and never bowing to tyranny.

But the U.S. Secret Service considers the article of faith a danger and mandated that Sikhs attending the meeting must remove it.

Anahat Kaur, secretary general of the Ohio-based World Sikh Council-America Region, said the 10 to 15 faithful who planned to attend the meeting "felt blindsided" by the agency's decision. She said Sikhs wore their Kirpans in 1999 when they met with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, so they didn't expect a problem.

Archbishop Broglio: Benedict's visit to the U.S. "a moment of grace"

Pope's arrival in U.S. will be 'a moment of grace,' archbishop says, by Maureen Boyle. Catholic News Service:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has shared his two encyclicals on hope and love with the world so the faithful will "grow in their experience of God," said a former Vatican diplomat who now heads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.

"His arrival among us is indeed a moment of grace, for which we must prepare, enjoy and then savor in the consideration of his message," said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.

His Feb. 28 talk was the first of two in a series sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington to help local Catholics prepare spiritually for the upcoming papal visit.

"His visit in April to this noble nation is a manifestation of his desire to confirm our faith in the Christ, the savior of the world," the archbishop told more than 400 people gathered at the Cathedral of St. Matthew.

Archbishop Broglio's talk on "Hope and Love Through the Eyes of Benedict XVI" examined love and the Catholic community's living out of that theological virtue, as well as hope and "what does the human person hope in?"

The pontiff speaks of love and its variety of meanings and uses, said the archbishop. He said examples would be love of country, love for family members and for neighbor, and love of God.

"One in particular stands out: love between a man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness. This would seem to be the very epitome of love," Archbishop Broglio said.

Why Pope Benedict won't be visiting Boston in April

"By omitting the Boston archdiocese from his planned trip to the US in April, the Holy Father upset expectations. But he has good reason to avoid it," says Catholic World Report's Philip F. Lawler, in A shrewd move: why Pope Benedict won't be visiting Boston in April.

Washington Youth to Pope: "See You Soon!"

Youth from the Catholic University of America in the U.S. capital participated in a satellite linkup with Benedict XVI, holding a banner that read "See You Soon!" reports Zenit News Service (March 3, 2008):

The Pope prayed the rosary with university students from 10 European and American cities during the 6th European Day for Universities, held Saturday in Paul VI Hall and linked via satellite to Naples, Italy; Bucharest, Romania; Toledo, Spain; Avignon, France; Minsk, Belarus; Washington D.C.; Mexico City; Havana, Cuba; Aparecida, Brazil; and Loja, Ecuador.

The Pontiff received a greeting from each of the student groups. The banner held by the Washington, D.C. students referred to the Holy Father's upcoming trip to the United States in April: "46 Days and Counting. See You Soon," it read.

In return, Benedict XVI greeted each university and said to the U.S. institution, "Dear university students of Washington, D.C., I send warm greetings to you! With the help of God, I will be in your city in April. With your assistance, may America remain faithful to its Christian roots and to its high ideals of freedom in truth and justice."

Pietro Sambi - "Making the Pope Comfortable"

U.S. Vatican envoy prepares way for the pope - USA TODAY's Cathy Lynn Grossman profiles Archbiship Pietro Sambi, who as the Holy See's U.S. Ambassador will be lending his expertise in guiding the Pope's interactions with the American people:

WASHINGTON — Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the veteran Vatican diplomat who serves as the Holy See's U.S. ambassador, knows exactly why the world will see — but not hear — Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the bedrock at Ground Zero during the pope's first visit to the USA.

The silence is Sambi's idea.

"This will be a moment of solidarity with those who died and their families. He will walk alone to indicate the loneliness of those who went to their deaths and the loneliness of the survivors. He will light a lamp. He will pray silently and make a public prayer (the only portion to be broadcast) for the remembrance of those who died, and for peace.

"There must be only silence and prayer here because not a single word will be enough to be convincing. Nothing will be adequate to touch the loneliness of those who died there and those who lost someone. Silence and prayer are what is required."

It is Sambi's job to know what is required, spiritual or political or trivial, to make a success of the shy, scholarly pope's visit. When Benedict comes to Washington and New York April 15-20, he will be reaching out to all Americans, not only Catholics.

On the general theme for the papal visit:

"Hope is the transcendent theme. A person or a people without hope is already dead," Sambi says. "In his humble, simple, kind way, this pope is bringing us this clear message: that the way to happiness is to know that God loves you, and because God loves you, you love your neighbor."

The pope also will confront the ugly wounds of clergy sexual abuse. The scandal, which involved nearly 5,000 priests and more than 12,000 victims, rocked the nation in 2002. Settlements and legal bills have surpassed $1.5 billion.

The pope "will address this — and more than once," Sambi says.

But he does not elaborate on when or where, or whether the pope will meet with abuse victims. On that, the voluble Sambi falls diplomatically silent.

Neither will the pope say anything about the contentious U.S. presidential elections, Sambi adds.

And making the Pope comfortable in his surroundings:

The shining black Yamaha baby grand piano is tuned in case the pianist pope wants to relax playing Mozart. It stands in one of the upstairs reception rooms at the nunciature, the Vatican Embassy's home and offices, across busy Massachusetts Avenue from the vice president's residence.

If Benedict wants to take one of his twice-daily walks, Sambi has mapped out a sylvan route where birds will drown out urban clamor.

But there are no plans for the German-born pope to have Bavarian pastries for his birthday luncheon. This will be an Italian meal, Sambi says, catered by Cafe Milano, a trendy Georgetown restaurant.

It's one more taste of American life for Benedict, who keeps an astute eye on popular culture.

Related:

• The "Super-Nuncio", by Rocco Palmo. Whispers in the Loggia December 27, 2007.

Tens of Thousands Anticipate Pope's Visit

Tens of Thousands Await Pope's US Visit, by Karen Mahabir. Associated Press. February 29, 2008:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lori Brown keeps the winning ticket voucher in her purse as a good luck charm, and tells practically everyone she runs into about it.

"It's ridiculous," said Brown, a mother of two from Laurel, Md., recalling how excited she was when her raffle ticket won her a seat at the April Mass that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate in Washington. "I'm just so out of my skin jumping for joy with this."

Brown is one of tens of thousands of people eagerly awaiting the first visit by a pope to Washington since 1979. The Archdiocese of Washington is distributing about 46,000 tickets for the event, and has set aside 14,000 seats for Catholic dioceses nationwide, archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said. [...]

Archbishop Donald Wuerl on the Pope's appeal to young Catholics

Young Catholics will be some of Pope Benedict XVI's most enthusiastic fans when he visits Washington in two months.

David Coyne, 30, Silver Spring, aims to be at the April 17 papal Mass at the new Washington Nationals ballpark.

"I will get a ticket somehow and be there," he said.

Mr. Coyne joined nearly 320 other young people in Ireland's Four Fields pub in Northwest this week to discuss the upcoming papal visit with Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and to get a chance to win tickets to the Mass. . . .

"These are young people who really do have great questions: How shall I live? What's the meaning of life? What's the purpose of life? ... I think they see in the pope answers to those questions because the pope reflects the voice of Christ," Archbishop Wuerl said.

During a question-and-answer session with the young adults, Archbishop Wuerl described his experience with Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, when he served as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

He described Benedict as "extraordinarily learned" and "just a very gentle and kind person" who would greet people at the end of meetings. . . .

He predicted that the papal message in the United States would be the standard Gospel, tracing back to the beginnings of Christianity.

"I look forward to the message he's going to bring. It's going to be rejuvenating. It's going to be a whole renewal of the faith of the people in this community," he said.

Young Catholics eager for pope's visit, by Matthew Cawvey. Washington Times February 22, 2008.

Cardinal Egan on Benedict's address to UN, visit to Ground Zero

This past week, New York 1's Roma Torre interviewed Cardinal Edward Egan on the Pope's impending visit, where he spoke of the Holy Father's intentions for speaking to the UN and his request to visit to the site of the former World Trade Center:

The pope's trip to New York was prompted by an invitation from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Benedict will arrive in New York on April 18 to address the U.N., where he is expected to discuss among other things, the War in Iraq.

"And if that's the Holy Father's intention, which I suspect it is, to speak in favor of peace, then I would have to say it is worth the trip," said Egan.

On the morning of April 20th, the pope, by his own request, will make a visit to the World Trade Center Site.

"I was delighted, but a little taken back," said Egan. "I didn't think that he would do that, but this is not my idea, nor is it my good friend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's idea. This was his request."

The Holy Father will descend the ramp to a shallow pool of water, where there will be a candle. He will be greeted by both the governor of New York and New Jersey, along with Bloomberg, firefighters, police officers and emergency workers.

"We will have representatives of families who have lost loved ones and we will also have representatives of people who were injured as a result," he said. "They will be waiting for him down in Ground Zero when he comes down this ramp."

Tom Stehle, "D.C.'s Music Man"

Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register catches up with Tom Stehle, the pastoral associate for liturgy and music at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, MD -- and currently serving as the director of music for the Papal Mass in Washington, DC.

Catholic News Service on Pope Benedict and the "City of Immigrants"

According to Benedicta Cipolla, "when Pope Benedict XVI arrives in New York in April, he will find the Big Apple unchanged from papal visits past in at least one regard: It remains a city of immigrants":

The New York Archdiocese, whose jurisdiction includes the three boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, as well as seven counties outside the city, numbers 2.5 million Catholics, an estimated 23 percent of whom are foreign-born. Certain vicariates run higher: 50 percent of Catholics in north Manhattan, for example, are immigrants.

In the Brooklyn Diocese, which encompasses Brooklyn and Queens, 54 percent of the area's 1.3 million Catholics are foreign-born. Overall, 37 percent of New Yorkers were born outside the United States.

The numbers aren't all that different from 1910, when 40 percent of the population was foreign-born, in large part because of immigration from Ireland, Italy, Russia and Austria-Hungary.

According to Fordham University church historian Msgr. Thomas Shelley, the first pastor of New York's first Catholic parish, St. Peter's, reported back in 1785 that fluency in six languages -- English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Irish -- was necessary for the job.

"When New York's Catholic community was no more than 200 people, it was already ethnically diversified," Msgr. Shelley said in an interview.

Today, New York is even more diverse. The Brooklyn Diocese offers Masses in 24 languages and 24 ethnic apostolates serving 18 different groups. In the New York Archdiocese, Catholics can find Masses in 33 languages on any given weekend.

Benedicta Cipolla's article profiles several largely-immigrant populated parishes

• The Transfiguration Church in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, with a congregation made up almost entirely of Latino immigrants and their first-generation children. (The parish was profiled in a 2005 article in The Tablet ("Hispanic Youth Take Their Faith to the Streets").

• St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church in the Bronx, an Eastern-rite parish founded in 1999, originally a Polish church, now populated by a largely Indian congregation. (Featured in New World Children of St. Thomas: Indian Christians in the United States work to establish their roots, by Leanne Arcuri One Vol 29:3 May 2003)

• Manhattan's Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz -- the New York Archdiocese's only church officially designated for Filipinos (originally built in 1925 as the Italian Church of the Most Holy Crucifix

The Tidings: "Pope has finger on pulse of U.S. church"

According to Carol Glatz of The Tidings, Pope Benedict's venture to the United States will not be "stepping into the unknown":

Through his many personal contacts with American church leaders and papal diplomats, his past trips to the U.S. and his ability to remember much of what he hears and reads, Pope Benedict has his finger firmly on the pulse of the church in the United States.

Bishops from around the world coming to Rome consistently have expressed awe and admiration for the pope's remarkable depth of knowledge, his familiarity with everyday events worldwide, and his recollection of minute or even obscure facts and past events.

"He has always been amazingly well-informed on the U.S.," said U.S. Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, who studied under the future pope in the 1970s.

According to Carol, the Pope's prior occupation as Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith presented him with many opportunities to acquaint himself with the challenges facing the Catholic Church in America:

The congregation has weekly meetings with experts on current prominent topics --- such as advances in medicine --- and it also receives regular reports from the world's bishops. . . .

As head of the doctrinal congregation and as pontiff, Pope Benedict has always had Americans on his staff. For instance, U.S. Archbishop James Harvey is one of his private secretaries, and the former San Francisco archbishop, Cardinal William J. Levada, is now head of the doctrinal congregation.

People who know Pope Benedict say he is a good listener and accessible, and it made meetings with him as head of the doctrinal congregation a positive experience.

"Not only was he present, as opposed to having just someone from the office meet (us), but he would listen, he would respond to questions, and he would seem to already have considerable knowledge of whatever the issues we brought to discuss," said Archbishop [Donald W. Wuerl of Washington].

He said bishops' group talks with Cardinal Ratzinger began with a prayer and with him asking participants what their issues and concerns were "rather than give a talk to us first."

"He didn't come to the meeting with an already formed vision of what was happening. He listened, and he responded across the board," the archbishop said.

The pope's ability to see things from so many points of view is also a sign of his having "a very wide vision" and sources of information that "were of considerable breadth," the Washington archbishop said.

Now that he is pope, the Holy Father can rely on a vast array of resources on the United States, from papal nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, in Washington and Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's observer at the United Nations in New York, to talks with U.S. Bishops themselves during their ad limina visits to Rome -- not to mention the reporting of L'Osservatore Romano and correspondence from thousands of faithful.

As Cardinal Ratzinger, the Pope has visited the United States "at least 5 times."

(On Ratzinger's prior visit to New York city, where he spoke at a conference on "biblical interpretation in crisis" arranged by Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus (then a Lutheran pastor) and tangled with ACT-UP gay rights demonstrators (as recolleded by Alice von Hildebrand) see: Pope Benedict XVI: Grace Under Fire Against The Grain August 31, 2007).

Msgr. Marini to Supervise New York Liturgies

After two days of site-visits in Washington, the new papal MC Msgr Guido Marini arrives in New York today to plot the liturgies for the second leg of B16's 15-20 April East Coast trek. Rocco Palmo (Whispers in the Loggia) has the details.

See also: photo of New York seminarians with Msgr. Guido Marini, courtesy of Fr. Z (What does Prayer Really Say?).

F.C. Zeigler Company Refurbishes 1938 Chalice for Papal Visit

The F.C. Ziegler Company in Tulsa, OK was given the honor of refurbishing a 1938 chalice to be used during Benedict's papal tour of the United States. Catholic News Service ' Marilyn Duck interviews Don Taylor, who is overseeing the project:

"When you get a piece like that, and you know who will use it and who has used it in the past, I'm absolutely nervous, yes," said the member of St. Cecilia Parish in Claremore, northeast of Tulsa.

The chalice has been housed at the Vatican's embassy in Washington and has been used by previous popes who visited the United States, including Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.

A Ziegler's customer who lives in Washington and has worked with the apostolic nuncio recommended the family-owned Tulsa firm as "the best in the industry," Taylor told the Tulsa World daily newspaper. [...]

The restoration by Taylor and his team included removing the rubies, sapphires and glass medallions that adorn the chalice and cleaning and polishing it before recoating the sterling silver chalice with a 24-carat gold finish. On Feb. 19, the chalice was supposed to be on its way back to Washington.

The chalice was manufactured in London in the spring of 1938. Taylor estimated it would cost $12,000-$15,000 to create such a chalice today.

It is typically cleaned once or twice every week by nuns, Taylor said, and the finish simply had worn off. The restoration was to make it "look like it did when it was new," he said.

See also:

• Tulsa firm refinishing chalice for pope's visit, by Bill Sherman. Tulsa World February 15, 2008.
• The F.C. Ziegler Company - "In 1929, during the birth of the Great Depression, [F.C. Zeigler] started a jewelry manufacture and repair shop. During World War II, local priests asked if he would begin making chalices and other sacred vessels. Considering it his duty to the Church, he said yes."

Benedict to visit President Bush, White House during Papal Visit

Pope to Visit White House on First Papal Trip to U.S. Fox News. February 15, 2008:

WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House April 16, meeting during his first trip to the United States since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church in 2005, administration officials said.

"The President and the Holy Father will continue discussions, which they began during the President's visit to the Vatican in June 2007, on their common commitment to the importance of faith and reason in reaching shared goals," according to a news release.

"These goals include advancing peace throughout the Middle East and other troubled regions, promoting inter-faith understanding, and strengthening human rights and freedom, especially religious liberty, around the world."

Both the president and first lady Laura Bush will receive the pope, the White House said.

Benedict will visit the United States April 15-20, traveling first to Washington, where he will also make a stop at the Catholic University of America. He will then travel to New York, stopping at the United Nations on April 18 to deliver an address the U.N. General Assembly. He also will visit Ground Zero and hold mass at Yankee Stadium.

The trip also falls on the three-year anniversary of Benedict's becoming pope, following the death of Pope John Paul II.

National Catholic Register on "The Year of Benedict"

The editors of the National Catholic Register predict that 2008 may very well be "The Year of Benedict" -- eclipsing even the candicacy of politician-superstar Senator Barack Obama and the downfall of baseball legend Roger Clemens:

After all, the Holy Father is just going to visit and make some remarks. And besides, he’s mostly of interest to Catholics — while these other events are of interest to all.

But we know better. As inspiring as even we find Barack Obama’s story and speeches, the future is not his. History has seen the rise and fall of many ideologies of exploitation. The abortion industry is ascendant now, and Obama is a close ally of the abortion industry. But in years to come his adamant opposition to the right to life, up to and including babies in the last stages of pregnancy, will be seen as shameful rather than inspirational. Obama’s embrace of the abortion industry is so extreme, he even voted against a bill that would protect babies accidentally born alive during abortions.

If history has taught us anything, it is that the truth endures despite the intellectual fads (and abuses) that rise and fall. And defending truth, in season and out of season, is what Pope Benedict has devoted his life to. But don’t take our word for it. When Pope John Paul II visited Toronto in 2002, the media made the mistake of expecting the visit to be no big deal. How wrong they were.

“John Paul, we have a confession to make,” went one Toronto Sun editorial. “We underestimated you. Thanks. Thank you for reminding us, regardless of our religion, about the importance of duty and determination. About the power of faith and the power of God. Thank you for bringing to Toronto those hundreds of thousands of wonderful and sincere young people.”

Later, they explained that the Pope towers above politicians: “The irony is that what critics see as the Pope’s weakness is his greatest strength. John Paul has proven what politicians say but don’t mean: If you are true to yourself, and if your heart is pure, people will respect you, even if they disagree with you. ... And because John Paul, throughout his papacy, has been true to himself, he towers above politicians when it comes to public respect. ... May God bless him and keep him with us for many years to come.”

Baltimore Catholics can Request Papal Mass Tickets Online

Catholics in the diocese of Baltimore, MD can request tickets online, reports Laureen Miles Brunelli (About.com: Baltimore):

Baltimore Catholics can request tickets this week for the two public Masses Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to celebrate during his U.S. visit in April. On February 6 at 9 a.m., Archdiocese's website will accept applications for the tickets to papal Masses in Washington DC (April 16) and New York (April 20).

The tickets are free; however, the New York tickets requires that ticket holders travel on the Archdiocese's chartered bus at $52 a person. Those registered in a parish in Baltimore's Archdiocese will receive preference. Applicants will need to provide their name, address, birth date and parish.

Diocese of Charlotte: 100 Tickets Available for New York Mass

The Diocese of Charlotte has 100 tickets for a Mass with Pope Benedict XVI to be held April 20 in New York, the News & Record reports:

Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte received the tickets from the Archdiocese of New York, which is hosting a portion of the pope's visit, which will also wind through Washington .

Online applications are being accepted through midnight Tuesday at http://www.charlottediocese.org/tickets. Tickets will be distributed randomly so everyone has the same chance of getting one. . . . More Details.

Meet Thomas Stehle . . .

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles Thomas Stehle, music director for the papal mass in Washington:

When Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass for 45,000 people at the new ballpark in Washington, D.C., a musician from Western Pennsylvania will lead the hallelujahs.

Thomas Stehle, a Butler native, will oversee a 250-voice choir, a gospel choir, a multicultural choir, a children's choir and an orchestra at the April 17 Mass. He's in sensitive negotiations with yet-to-be-identified famous singers. This is on top of his duties as director of music at a parish in Potomac, Md.

The papal post came as a surprise to Mr. Stehle, who hadn't applied. He expected it to go to a director at the cathedral or the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

"When I first heard that the pope was coming, there was a little sense of relief that I wasn't in a position where I would necessarily be called to do this," he said. "It's a wonderful honor, but the responsibility is tremendous."

He was prepared for it, he said, by years of service at parishes in the Pittsburgh area. . . . [More]

Related

• Thomas Stehle named director of music for upcoming Papal Liturgy in Washington Catholic Standard January 23, 2008.

CUA Students Design Alter, Pulpit, Lecturn & Chair for Papal Mass

Two Catholic University graduate students won a competition to design the alter and chair for Pope Benedict XVI's papal mass in Washington (Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post January 29, 2008):

Twenty-one teams of students entered the university's competition to design the altar, pulpit, lectern and chair to be used in the Mass. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the service.

The design, by John-Paul Mikolajczyk, 23, of Staten Island, N.Y., and Ryan Mullen, 24, of Manchester, N.H., uses a pattern of overlapping arches that is repeated on all the pieces, including the altar's base. The students, master's degree candidates at Catholic University's School of Architecture and Planning, said they were inspired by time they spent at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is adjacent to the campus, according to the university's public affairs office.

The chair has a very tall back with the papal coat of arms. The front of the pulpit, from where the pope will read, features images from the Bible.

Photo credit: Tony Fiorini, CUA - "Ryan Mullen and John-Paul Mikolajczjk and their winning papal design."

SILive.com has a profile of Mikolajczyk:

"It's pretty big," Mikolajczyk said earlier today. "It hasn't really sunk in yet, and I kind of like that it hasn't because that lets me stay focused on the work."

The next step is "design development," as he and his partner, working with architecture faculty and representatives of the Archdiocese of Washington, take a critical look at comments from the contest jury before beginning the actual construction. [...]

Back home on Staten Island, his parents, Zdzislaw (Jim) and Loretta Mikolajczyk, didn't even know about the contest until their son called Monday night with news that he'd won.

"This is such an honor for him," Mrs. Mikolajczyk said. "This was his own accomplishment."

The graduate of St. Rita's School in Meiers Corners and a 2002 alumnus of Monsignor Farrell High School did his undergraduate work in philosophy at Catholic University. His mother said his decision to apply for the school's graduate program in architecture was a bit of a surprise but not that much of a stretch.

"He was always constructing things," she said. "He never spoke about it, it was just innate."

Mikolajczyk, a parishioner of St. Adalbert's R.C. Church in Elm Park, doesn't think his winning design will guarantee him an audience with the pope.

"It's not like we spearheaded the ecumenical movement," he said. "But it should be some help in getting tickets to the mass."

If he does meet Pope Benedict, he'll help solidify a family tradition: His mother met a Polish cardinal visiting her Brooklyn parish in the 1970s. That cardinal went on to become Pope John Paul II, in whose honor her son was named.

Thomas Peters (American Papist) toured the exhibit and has exclusive photographs of the chosen models for the pulpit, lecturn and chair for Benedict's public mass in Washington.

Papal Visit Media Advisory

Applications for media credentials to cover Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States, April 15-20, are available online at http://www.uspapalvisit.org/mediakit/index.htm; access is at Media Credentials. Application deadline is Feb. 21.

• The pope will arrive in Washington on the afternoon of April 15. His visit to Washington will include, on April 16, a morning meeting with President George Bush at the White House and an evening meeting with the bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
• Thursday's itinerary includes Mass at the new Nationals Park, the first non-baseball event for the stadium, an address to the heads of all U.S. Catholic colleges and heads of diocesan education departments at The Catholic University of America, and an interreligious prayer service at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.
• On Friday, April 18, the pope will go to New York, to address the United Nations and to attend an evening prayer service with Christian leaders at St. Joseph Church on E. 87th Street in the Yorkville section of Manhattan.
• Saturday's program includes Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral with priests, deacons and religious men and women from throughout the country, and a trip to St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, where the pope will meet with young people with disabilities and then preside over a rally and prayer service with seminarians and other young people.
• Sunday morning, April 20, the pope will visit Ground Zero, before an afternoon Mass at Yankee Stadium. A full itinerary is available at www.uspapalvisit.org.

Most events are open to media, but space at many sites is limited. Pools will be established; not all credentialed media can be present at every site. All credentialed media will have access to live feed of events at media centers in Washington and New York, as well as a password-protected Web site to access all of the papal texts.

Credentialing for coverage of the White House event and the United Nations event must be made through the White House or UN. Credential applications for other events will only be accepted online at http://www.uspapalvisit.org/mediakit/index.htm; click on media credentials.

CONTACT: Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, +1-202-541-3200

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Jan. 29/
SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Archdiocese of Boston: 3,000 Available Tickets to NYC Papal Mass

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is making 3,000 tickets available for Boston-area Catholics who want to see Pope Benedict XVI on April 20 at Yankee Stadium in New York - the Boston Globe reports:

The Boston tickets can be requested online at boston200.org. Ticket requests must be made by 5 p.m. Feb. 11. The archdiocese is making tickets available only to registered parishioners who are over age 14, and is planning to hold a lottery if more than 3,000 people request seats, said Scot Landry, coordinator of the event. The archdiocese will offer bus transportation to and from New York the day of the Mass.

"Many Catholics have called asking if the archdiocese would have tickets, so we requested a number from the archdiocese of New York, and we were thrilled that they allocated such a large number for us," Landry said. "There's a natural affection for the Holy Father, and this is his first trip to the US, and I think people want to experience it firsthand."

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston will be traveling separately to New York and will concelebrate the Mass at Yankee Stadium with the pope.

See Also: AmericanPapist: Not Your Average Catholic!: AmP Tip: How to get tickets to see Pope Benedict XVI in April American Papist

Catholic News Service: "Details on tickets to papal Masses remain sketchy, as deadlines pass"

According to the Catholic News Service, Your chance of getting a ticket to Pope Benedict XVI's April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium might depend on whether you live in a diocese close to the Archdiocese of New York or in one of the nation's oldest archdioceses. Nancy Frazier O'Brien explains the reason for the "privileged placement" of our nation's eldest dioceses, in an detailed report on the rush for papal mass tickets:

Catholics from three archdioceses that share with the Archdiocese of New York the distinction of marking their 200th anniversary this year will get special treatment at the Yankee Stadium Mass. The archdioceses of Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky., will be honored at the Mass, along with the nation's first diocese, the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer of the Louisville Archdiocese, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville will concelebrate the Mass with Pope Benedict and the cardinal-archbishops of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

As for distribution within the New York Diocese:

The New York office extended the deadline for dioceses to submit ticket requests until Jan. 15 and said the heads of dioceses would receive information about their ticket allocation during the week of Jan. 21. Each bishop will distribute the tickets "at his discretion," the New York Archdiocese said.

For those living within the New York Archdiocese, tickets will be distributed in the parishes. "Pastors will receive detailed information regarding ticket allocations and distribution by the end of January," the papal visit office said.

The office also is distributing tickets for the pope's April 19 meeting with young people and seminarians at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York. Those will be allocated "through Catholic schools, parish catechetical programs, parish youth groups, seminaries, etc., in the Archdiocese of New York and other dioceses in the immediate New York metropolitan area."

Benedict to celebrate Ecumenical Service at St. Joseph's, Yorkville

Pope Benedict XVI will lead an ecumenical prayer service during his papal visit -- Catholic News Service has the details on the location:

Pope Benedict XVI will lead an ecumenical prayer service for national and local Christian leaders April 18 at St. Joseph's Church, a historic German parish in the Yorkville section of Manhattan. . . .

[NY Archdiocese communications directer] Joseph Zwilling said St. Joseph's was selected for the service because "it's a beautiful church" that had recently been renovated and because it was founded as a German national parish that includes stained-glass windows with inscriptions in German.

Msgr. Lawrence Connaughton, a former pastor of St. Joseph's who is a site coordinator for the event, said the 113-year-old Romanesque-revival-style church holds about 350 people.

St. Joseph's was established in 1873 to serve the large German immigrant population of Yorkville as well as German-speaking people throughout the metropolitan area who traveled there for services in their native language.

• History of St. Joseph's in Yorkville - 404 East 87th Street in Manhattan
• St. Joseph's Yorkville - NYC Organ Project List
• Discovering a "Little Germany" in Yorkville NYC Immigrant Heritage Trail (Lower East Side Tenement Museum)
• Yorkville, Manhattan Wikipedia.com

Diocese of Albany, NY Scrambles for Tickets

Citizens of Albany, NY scramble to get tickets to the NYC papal mass - Marc Parry of the Albany Times-Union reports:

As many as 3,000 requests have already arrived from people hoping for some of the roughly 450 tickets allotted to the Albany Diocese. Lucky pilgrims will be picked by random drawing.

The diocesan newspaper, The Evangelist, is handling the free tickets. The requests already fill four postal bins. They come from Albany and Altamont, from Gloversville and Gilboa -- even from an inmate at Coxsackie prison.

"Does he think he's going to get a furlough to go to New York?" wondered Mary Breig, circulation director for the newspaper. [...]

The amount of mail piling up has put to rest any question whether the public Mass would generate the same interest as ones celebrated by John Paul, who visited the United States five times during his pontificate.

"I think it's not just the individual, but the office," James Breig said. "People recognize this is the head of our church -- we have to go see him regardless of who it is. It is for most people a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Pope to take Center Field at Nationals Park, Washington

The Canadian Press reports on a change in the outdoor mass in Washington:

WASHINGTON - Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate mass from centre field at the Washington Nationals' new ballpark during his three-day visit to the city in mid-April, officials said.

With thousands of people already requesting tickets to the April 17 event, officials with the Archdiocese of Washington said they wanted as many people as possible to attend the mass. They considered placing the altar in the second base area but realized they could fit in an extra 4,000 seats by putting it in centre field - for a total of 45,000 seats.

The doors will open about 6:30 a.m. for pre-mass activities, including music and videos. The two-hour mass begins at 10 a.m.

Plans for distributing the free tickets have not been announced. Archdiocese officials want to make sure they do not get into the hands of scalpers or wind up on EBay, spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said.

According to the article, the Pope will be transported around in the infamous PopeMobile.

Cardinal Bertone: "Pope to stay above political fray during U.S. visit"

Don't expect any political fireworks during Benedict's U.S. visit -- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Pope Benedict intends to stay above the political fray (Catholic News Service):

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told the Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana that "someone said there's always an electoral campaign under way in the United States" no matter what time of year it is.

"The pope is nonpartisan," the cardinal said in the magazine's Jan. 6 issue.

"One certainly cannot control eventual exploitation" by people who might use the pope's visit to gain political advantage, he added.

Ave Maria students preparing to visit DC and NYC for papal visit

Ave Maria students are already preparing to journey North to welcome Pope Benedict XVI - Liam Dillon reports for Naples Daily News December 26, 2007:

. . . The pope’s plans were revealed Nov. 12 but students at the new Catholic school in eastern Collier County were preparing to make the more than 1,000-mile journey up the East Coast to greet him just weeks after the announcement.

“A lot people are planning to go see him in D.C. and New York,” said Rachel Parker, a 19-year-old freshman.

Fellow freshmen Josh Rauwolf and Selah Lyford, who stood in line with Parker at last month’s Farm City Barbecue on campus, said they intended to go.

“The campus in general is very excited about it,” said Rauwolf, 19.

AMU President Nick Healy said it was too soon to tell how the school might commemorate the occasion. University officials hadn’t yet discussed the possibility of coordinating a student trip and having one might be difficult because of class schedules, Healy said. Still Healy anticipated much on-campus clamor.

“I would expect there to be great interest,” he said.

The Pope is following the development of Ave. Maria University with interest -- one of his former students, Fr. Joseph Fessio, served as the provost of the university:

When the Rev. Joseph Fessio ... visited the pope last September, Fessio said Pope Benedict’s first question to him was: “How’s Ave Maria doing?”

Fessio, now theologian-in-residence at the school and its best known professor, is one of the closest American clergy members to the pope having studied under the then-Rev. Joseph Ratzinger in the 1970s. Fessio said he had no plans to travel to the Northeast during Pope Benedict’s visit, and if he did, it would be to promote his publishing business, Ignatius Press — the English-language publisher of the pope’s works — not Ave Maria. Fessio was relieved of his administrative duties last spring after he was fired as provost and rehired in his newly created position within a week.

“I’m just a faculty member in residence now,” Fessio said.

Pope Benedict to address Youth in Yonkers

Gary Stern (Lower Hudson Online) has the scoop on Pope Benedict's scheduled visit to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY:

Pope Benedict XVI's scheduled visit to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers will revolve around a meeting with disabled youths inside the seminary chapel and then a papal address to nearly 20,000 young people from across the region who will assemble on the seminary grounds.

The April 19 visit will take place in the late afternoon, and the pope should be in Yonkers for about 90 minutes. . . .

It will be on the afternoon of April 19 that nearly 20,000 youths from parishes across the archdiocese and neighboring dioceses will be bused to parking areas on the grounds of the Yonkers seminary. The gathering will probably look much the same as when Pope John Paul II visited St. Joseph's on Oct. 6, 1995.

"I think we have a well-rehearsed plan," said Mark G. Ackermann, executive director of the archdiocese's office of the papal visit. "The grounds will be tightly controlled, but it's a good plan."

When Benedict arrives - John Paul came to Yonkers by helicopter, but such details will be confidential until the event - he will first meet with about 50 disabled young people in the seminary chapel.

"He will want to let them know that they are as welcome as anyone, as important to him as anyone else in God's family," said Bishop Gerald Walsh, the seminary's rector.

The youths who will be invited are still being identified by archdiocesan officials. . . .

At Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, as at other Catholic schools across New York, everyone is itching to get tickets.

"We are very excited as a school, certainly," said Alexander Malecki, JFK's director of alumni and public relations. "It's really a once-in-a-lifetime event for most people. For our youngsters, it's something they've never experienced, the pageantry of it. We are looking forward to putting together a contingency to go down. It will be something to see."

USCCB Unveils Logo for Pope Benedict's USA Visit

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a logo commemorating Pope Benedict XVI’s April 2008 visit to the United States.

The logo features a color photograph of Pope Benedict XVI with upraised hands. Behind him is a yellow-screened image of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. In black type running at the top and over the cupola of the dome are three lines of type reading “Pope Benedict XVI/Christ Our Hope/Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008.”

The logo was designed by Donna Hobson, publications director for The Catholic University of America. “In designing this logo,” says Hobson, “I wanted to incorporate the papal colors —yellow and white — and to show a welcoming, arms-open, smiling Pope Benedict.”

Hobson has been a graphic designer for more than 20 years. She has been CUA’s publications director for more than two years, having returned to the area from Detroit, Mich., where she was creative director at Wayne State University.

Georgetown University - Anticipating Papal Visit

Papal Visit Stirs Up Questions About Church Facing Challenges, by Anna Cheimets. Georgetown Independent December 5, 2007:

When Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States next April, don't expect a high school band to play the theme song to "Rocky" like one did in 1979 for Pope John Paul II. The Pope's visit will be inspirational to many American Catholics, but this trip is less focused on generating enthusiasm from the flock than it is about sending a message about the current state of world affairs. [...]

Georgetown chaplain Father Pat Rogers S.J. said, "I think that the Holy Father's visit is going to a great thing for Catholics in the United States and at Georgetown." He added, "We are very lucky and blessed to have him coming to Washington DC."

According to [Fr. Thomas J.] Reese, the most important aspect of Pope Benedict's visit is his speech at the UN. The UN serves as "a real bully pulpit to talk to the whole world," Reese explained. "It's an opportunity for Benedict to lay out his opinion on international justice, war and peace and his concern for refugees." [...]

"I think he needs to address the role of the United States in the world. We are the last superpower. He can address that we need to be a force for peace and justice and economic development in the world," said Reese.

Reese added that without traveling to New York City and Washington, "the American people would feel left out. Since this is his first visit as Pope it makes sense to visit Washington DC." . . . [Read more]

CUA Launches Website Dedicated to Benedict's Visit

Web Site Launched for Pope's April Visit :

The Catholic University of America has launched a Web site dedicated to Benedict XVI's visit to the school in April. . . .

"Even though we're five months away from welcoming the Holy Father to Catholic University, excitement about his upcoming visit is running very high," said university president Father David O'Connell.

"In recognition of this excitement and to satisfy the desire for as much information and transparency as possible, we have created this special Catholic University of America Web site," said the Vincentian priest. "This is our 'first draft.' We will have much more to add as time goes on."

The university's Web site provides information about Benedict XVI's scheduled meeting at the university with the presidents of Catholic colleges and universities and diocesan educational leaders, as well as general information about the historic visit.

Catholic University of America's website can be found at: papalvisit.cua.edu

"Limited Access" to Pope Benedict on U.S. Visit

Catholic News Service' Patricia Zapor has the details on the venues chosen -- and why:

One reason the liturgies with Pope Benedict won't be on the National Mall or in Central Park is simply that neither locale was available, according to communications officials with the Washington and New York archdioceses.

Susan Gibbs, communications director for the Washington Archdiocese, said the pope's visit follows immediately after the city's National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Mall -- the expanse of lawn between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol -- could not be booked.

For one thing, the National Park Service schedules time for the mall's grassy areas to recover after big events, especially in the spring, Gibbs told Catholic News Service. The time to construct a stage for an altar and the related spaces necessary for staging a Mass concelebrated by hundreds of priests also would have been a problem, she said.

Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the New York Archdiocese, said that "Central Park wasn't an option" for this papal visit. . . .

The cost of a Mass on the Mall would have run into the millions of dollars, Gibbs said. A Washington Post report on the logistics of the 1979 Mass on the Mall estimated the cost to the city and the archdiocese at $1.9 million, or about $4.25 million in 2007 dollars. The archdiocese's share, about $400,000, would translate to more than $1.1 million today.

And those expenses included none of the contemporary security measures that such a Mass would require today, such as metal detectors and fencing to keep out people who haven't been screened.

Both Zwilling and Gibbs acknowledged that security is much easier to handle at a structure like a baseball stadium.

New details emerge for getting Papal Mass tickets

Catholic News Service has provided us with the latest update:

Pretty much the only chances the general public will have will be at Masses at the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium, with a capacity of about 45,000, and Yankee Stadium in New York, which has a capacity of perhaps 65,000.

The youths and seminarians rally at New York's St. Joseph's Seminary also is listed as a public event, but Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the New York Archdiocese, told Catholic News Service the 15,000 to 20,000 spots will be filled primarily with people from the New York region and some of the approximately 5,000 seminarians in the country.

... Also yet to be decided in both cities is whether the pope will have a motorcade route where people may line up for a chance to see him, said Zwilling and Gibbs.

More information will be made available after January 1st at the Web sites of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archdiocese of New York. Also check back here for the latest updates.

Poll: New Yorkers “overwhelmingly applaud” Pope’s April visit

From the Catholic News Agency:

A new poll of New York City residents indicates that a majority of New Yorkers think Pope Benedict XVI's scheduled visit in April will be good for their city, and most New York City Catholics have a favorable attitude towards him.

According to a survey conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, 70 % of New Yorkers think the visit will be good for the city, while only 15 % do not.

Eighty eight percent of Catholics specifically thought the visit would benefit New York, while only 9 % disagreed.

And a continued high-demand for papal tickets:

Twenty nine percent of New Yorkers, including 60 % of Catholics, would like to attend the Pope’s mass at Yankee Stadium.

Considering the population of NYC is roughly 8.5 million people that means about 2.4 million people might want to attend Yankee Stadium (which seats ~50,000). Talk about a hot ticket.

Benedict's Mass at St. Patrick's will be New York's "First"

Pope Benedict's mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral will be a "first" for the New York Archdiocese, says Cardinal Egan. New York One reports:

This will be the first mass ever celebrated by a pope in Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Now some of your audience is going to say what about Pope John Paul, or Pope Paul the VI? They did not ever celebrate mass in the cathedral so this is a first, and NY1 knows it first."

Archdiocese of New York: Website for the Papal Visit

The Archdiocese of New York has set up a special page devoted to Benedict XVI's visit. It's pretty sparse at the moment but they will update it as new information becomes available.

• Ticket Information
• Tentative Itinerary
• Press Releases

Anticipating the Papal Visit

Local Catholics anticipating Pope Benedict's visit in April, by: Jessica Mokhiber. Capital 9 News. November 18, 2007:

Albany Resident Mary Lou White said, "When I was in Rome, I just saw John Paul in the little window miles away. It's just an exceptional thing. It makes you feel good."

Theresa Munafo of Albany added, "We all loved John Paul. People were sad when he died and we don't know the new Pope as well, Pope Benedict. A lot of people aren't too familiar. I think it's great that he's coming around."

His visits draw crowds larger than most celebrities could even imagine and many will undoubtedly make a pilgrimage for even just a glimpse of Pope Benedict in April when he makes his first visit to the U.S. as pontiff. As our Jessica Mokhiber reports many local Catholics say this visit may help people here feel more connected to the Pope and to their faith.

Albany Catholic Diocese Priest Father Doyle said, "It's a great experience of faith for people to see the Pope and to be in his presence." . . .

Vivian Munafo, 11, said, "I think it's actually pretty exciting because I love when new things happen. I think it's great."

Her mother Theresa added, "Sometimes you feel like you're the only one out there, or one of a small group of people. I think it helps to know how many Catholics there are around the world and how connected we are."

Intinerary of Pope Benedict's Visit to the United States

From the USCCB:

The Holy Father will arrive in Washington on the evening of April 15, with a visit to the White House on April 16 and a meeting with the bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that evening.

April 17 will include a public Mass at the new Nationals Stadium in Washington and a meeting with the presidents of Catholic universities and diocesan heads of education at Catholic University of America, as well as a meeting with representatives of other religions at the John Paul II Cultural Center.

Pope Benedict XVI will fly to New York City on April 18 for an address to the United Nations. He will also meet with ecumenical leaders at a New York City parish that evening.

On April 19 he will celebrate a Mass for priests, deacons and members of religious orders at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and will meet with young Catholics at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers.

April 20 will include a visit to ground zero, the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and a public Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Philadelphia Daily News: "Why the pope should visit, & why he won't"

Philadelphia Daily News speculates as to why Philadelphia was not on the roster of cities selected for the Pope's visit:

"New York is still the capital of the world to the Vatican, and the prime reason for his trip is to address the U.N.," said papal observer Rocco Palmo. "Plus he has to go to Washington. As a head of state, a pope needs to go through formalities."

Palmo is U.S. correspondent for The Tablet, a London journal of religion, culture and politics. He also writes the blog "Whispers in the Loggia," which is the Clout page of the Catholic hierarchy.

One big difference between John Paul's visit and Benedict's is that Philly had clout with the former and has none with the latter.

"John Paul had a special bond with Philadelphia because of his good friend Cardinal Krol," Palmo said. "His first words in English were, 'I need to find an excuse now to come to Philadelphia.' "

"In 1976, John Paul gave his first speech as cardinal at the Eucharistic Congress" here, Palmo said. "Benedict doesn't have that same kind of bond with the city."

LA Times Lectures the Pope

LA Times to Pope Benedict: Don't Listen to Conservative Catholics, by Dave Pierre. NewsBusters.org November 14, 2007:

A trip to the United States from Pope Benedict is still nearly six months away (April 2008), but the Los Angeles Times is already in a tizzy. An editorial in Wednesday's Times ("Teaching the Pope" 11/14/07) advises the Pope to shun "hard-liners" and "conservative Catholics" and listen to "other Catholics." The Times is concerned with the issue of whether or not abortion-friendly politicians who claim they are Catholic should receive Holy Communion. . . .

• Response from Carl Olson Insight Scoop:

  Because, of course, we should assume that the 80-year-old pope from Germany is completely clueless about democracy and the super-special, ultra-unique status of America, whose Constitution is nothing but a glowing homage to "Separation of Church and State!" Perhaps the author of this piece is unaware that Benedict has been studying the relationship between Church and state for, oh, over fifty years now . . .

• Response: Andrew Sumereau of American Thinker November 17, 2007:

  When the decline of newspaper readership and influence is chronicled, an enterprising author could do little better than to use this editorial as a lodestone revealing the direction of oblivion. It evinces the fulsome idiocy that drove newspapers out of business. "Teaching the pope" brings a new low to the meaning of the word nonsense. . . .

  The two thousand year history of a church, which began amidst Roman Emperors and has seen every political system, economic system, culture, geography, and condition under the sun, continues to unfold. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times marks a century and a quarter this year, and anxiously wonders about its future prospects.

• Response: Catholics in the Public Square November 14, 2007:

  Perhaps the Los Angeles Times should consider whether the Church should remain "a public and publicly relevant authority" to those who profess the Catholic faith and yet obstinately and publicly repudiate her very teaching by their legislative actions?

Pope Coming to U.S.; Washington Post Responds by Interviewing Naysayers, by Jay Anderson. Pro Ecclesia November 14, 2007.

Archdiocese of New York: "No Ticket Scalping!"

Free tickets to Pope's Yankee Stadium Mass tempt scalpers, By Corky Siemazko. Daily News November 14, 2007:

Thou shalt not scalp tickets to the upcoming Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium.

That was the warning Tuesday to potential profiteers from the Archdiocese of New York, which said it will distribute the coveted tickets through the parishes — and they're free.

"We want to emphasize that," said diocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling. "Tickets are free of charge."

Zwilling spoke a day after the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict would be making his first U.S. visit as leader of the Catholic church.

Rudy Giuliani to receive private audience with the Pope?

Katie Thomas (Newsday asks): "Given the Rudy-friendly itinerary, is there a chance the pontiff will grant an audience to Giuliani -- a lifelong Yankees fan known worldwide for his handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks?" -- papal pundits are divided on the question:

"I'm sure the pope would be happy to grant Giuliani an audience," said David Gibson, author of "The Rule of Benedict," a biography of Pope Benedict XVI. "If there was something at Ground Zero, I would be surprised if Giuliani were not there."

But Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, said he doubted the pope would grant a tete-a-tete with the former mayor. Although Giuliani may appear at an event with other officials, "The pope normally deals with current government leaders -- not past leaders," Reese said.

If Giuliani is still a presidential candidate come April -- the Republican nominee should be chosen by then -- a papal meeting would lend a bit of gravitas to his bid. Still, if Hizzoner engineers an audience with His Holiness, the visit could backfire. After all, Giuliani is a candidate for the presidency -- not the priesthood. Although he attended Catholic schools all his life, he's on his third marriage, has an estranged relationship with his children and holds liberal views on abortion and gay rights. Such a public meeting might remind voters of his less-than-saintly past.

"He's walking a tightrope," Gibson said of Giuliani. "If he appears to look like an altar boy, it's not going to play very well."

Secret Service To Protect The Pope During NYC Visit

Secret Service To Protect The Pope During NYC Visit, by Ruschell Boone. NY1 News November 15, 2007:

The Secret Service has offered its protection to Pope Benedict XVI for his April visit to New York City and Washington.

The agency says it is standard practice for heads of state.

The report goes into great detail on the planning of the papal mass in Yankee Stadium:

With only five months to prepare for Pope Benedict's arrival, the Archdiocese of New York says it is starting to hammer out the specific details of the visit, including the public mass scheduled at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, April 20.

The service will be free, but only about 60,000 tickets will be distributed as early as January. As the host, most will go to parishes within the Archdiocese of New York.

“And then we'll have a certain number of tickets for the neighboring dioceses, places like the Archdiocese of Newark, the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Diocese of Bridgeport, and the Diocese of Rockville Center in Long Island,” said Joe Zwilling of the Archdiocese of New York. “So we'll make sure the bishops of those places will have a representation of their faithful present as well.” [...]

“In Central Park we had to bring everything and we had to build it from the ground,” he said. “In Yankee Stadium we will have the facilities already there. Very practical things like seats, like concession stands, like bathrooms already in place.”

After having its first committee meeting on Tuesday, the archdiocese is also trying to decide how many languages will be used during the service.

“Creole and Spanish and German and French and English and Tagalog and I'm trying to think of some of the other ones we've used in the past,” said Zwilling. “You can really bring them all in there.”

According to the report, the Saturday, April 19 mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral will be reserved for "about 2,500 priests, deacons and bishops."

And according to the Times Herald Record "There's still one variable in the plan — the name of the parish that will host an interfaith service has yet to be announced." (NYC plans for pope, hoping for perfection, by Michael Randall. November 14, 2007).

Pope Will Visit Ground Zero, Manhattan

Pope to visit Ground Zero in New York, by Martin Barillas. Spero News. November 13, 2007:

Archbishop Pietro Sambi - the Holy See's ambassador to the United States - announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Ground Zero in New York City on April 20, 2008, the site where thousands died in the World Trade Center in 2001. In the place where the Twin Towers once stood, Archbishop Sambi said that the pope "will show his solidarity with those who have died, their families and all those who seek peace and wish an end to violence." Archbishop Sambi expressed his hope that the pope's visit will bring "a new light, a new Pentecost to the Church in the United States". This stop on his five-day tour of the United States will be followed by an outdoor Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Why Did The Pope Skip Boston?

According to Time's Jeff Israely, Some critics are already speculating as to why the Pope is skirting the "Ground Zero" of the American Catholic sex abuse crisis:

Boston was where the first spiral of revelations from victims of abusive clerics began to emerge, and where the head of the Archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, was eventually forced to resign after admitting that he'd protected a priest who he knew had sexually abused young members of his church.

Several activist groups that speak out on behalf of victims of priest sex abuse immediately criticized the exclusion of the city from the Pope's April 15-20 trip. According to a statement by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Benedict is missing a "golden opportunity" to confront the crisis head-on. Victims' activist Anne Barrett Doyle told the Agence France Presse that the Pope is avoiding Boston for fear of protests.

Father Thomas Reese disagrees:

. . . other factors were key to Benedict's choice to limit his trip to just two cities. The original purpose of the trip was to speak at the United Nations, as both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II did. Benedict wanted to extend the stay and visit the nation's capital as well, but never intended the trip to be a U.S. tour. "The choice of Washington and New York was preordained," Reese says. "If they went to a third diocese, everyone else would say 'why didn't you come to us?'"

Reese defends Benedict's record on the abuse scandal, pointing out that he worked to respond to the crisis when he was a senior Vatican Cardinal. Some mention of the scandal is expected, but don't expect it to be the focus on his trip to the States. "Will he give a whole speech on sex abuse crisis? I doubt it," Reese says.

That isn't stopping some in the mainstream media from racheting up the bile, however:

• Pope to visit US amid anger over pedophile priests AFP November 13, 2007.
• Report: Pope Snubbing Boston Over Abuse Scandal ABC News / Boston. November 13, 2007.

Boston Bypassed!

Pope will bypass Boston in US visit, by Michael Paulson. Boston Globe November 13, 2007:

BALTIMORE - Pope Benedict XVI will visit New York and Washington next spring, but will not come to Boston, the Vatican's top diplomat in the United States announced yesterday. . . .

The decision is a disappointment for Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who had pushed hard for Benedict to visit Boston, which will be celebrating its bicentennial as a Catholic diocese next year. O'Malley had spoken with the pope several times to press the invitation and had spoken with Vatican officials in Rome and Washington. He said that he believed Boston was seriously considered, but that Vatican officials were concerned about overtaxing the pontiff, who is 80.

"I'm disappointed, because I think we had a chance, but I'm just glad the Holy Father is coming to the United States - I think it's very important that he do that - and I was glad that we got a hearing anyway," O'Malley said [...]

O'Malley, who said he was informed of the decision by Vatican officials yesterday morning, added that he would push for a trip to Boston if Benedict were to visit the United States again. O'Malley said he does not believe Boston's role as the epicenter of the sexual abuse crisis was a major factor in the Vatican's decision.

Pope Benedict to Visit United States in April 2008!!!

Pope Benedict XVI to visit the United States in April New York Times November 13, 2007:

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to come to the United States in April, his first visit as the pope, and plans to make stops in Washington and New York, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced yesterday.

During his stay, scheduled for April 15 to April 20, the pope plans to visit ground zero in Lower Manhattan and is scheduled to address the United Nations on April 18, officials said. The subject of his address was not announced.

Pope Benedict is scheduled to meet with President Bush on April 16 at the White House. He will also meet with United States bishops at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and celebrate Mass at the new Nationals Park stadium.

Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York said in a statement: “I have assured the Holy Father of a warm and prayerful welcome. We all look forward to his visit with pleasure and anticipation.”

In New York, the pope is scheduled to meet with other religious leaders at a parish that has not yet been named publicly. He also plans to celebrate Mass for members of religious orders at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on April 19.

On April 20, Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit ground zero. Later that day, he is to celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium.