Great Picture
I think this may be one of my favorite pictures of Pope John Paul II.
And there is a nice story on the Washtingtonpost.com site that talks about why people loved him. This my be my fav exerpt:
In New York, when Mayor Ed Koch greeted him with, "Your Holiness, I am the mayor," the pope replied, "I shall try to be a good citizen." Then, in Madison Square Garden, thousands of youngsters started shouting in a rhythmic chant, "John Paul II, we love you!" after the pope had been driven around the arena in a converted Ford Bronco while a high school band played the themes from "Rocky" and "Battlestar Galactica."
As George Weigel recounts this and several of these incidents in his magisterial biography, "Witness to Hope," the pope began imitating a drummer and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. As the chanting rocked the roof, he grabbed a microphone and, shaking with laughter, chanted back: "Woo-hoo-woo; John Paul II, he loves you!"
I had the privledge of seeing a Papal Mass in Baltimore (at Camden Yards!) when I was in college in 1995. I spent a lot of it crying which shocked the hell out of me. (Ha.) I was in the nosebleeds but the second he appeared...it didn't matter. We all felt like we were there with him.
Anyway, probably my last Pope Post but still. :)
And there is a nice story on the Washtingtonpost.com site that talks about why people loved him. This my be my fav exerpt:
In New York, when Mayor Ed Koch greeted him with, "Your Holiness, I am the mayor," the pope replied, "I shall try to be a good citizen." Then, in Madison Square Garden, thousands of youngsters started shouting in a rhythmic chant, "John Paul II, we love you!" after the pope had been driven around the arena in a converted Ford Bronco while a high school band played the themes from "Rocky" and "Battlestar Galactica."
As George Weigel recounts this and several of these incidents in his magisterial biography, "Witness to Hope," the pope began imitating a drummer and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. As the chanting rocked the roof, he grabbed a microphone and, shaking with laughter, chanted back: "Woo-hoo-woo; John Paul II, he loves you!"
I had the privledge of seeing a Papal Mass in Baltimore (at Camden Yards!) when I was in college in 1995. I spent a lot of it crying which shocked the hell out of me. (Ha.) I was in the nosebleeds but the second he appeared...it didn't matter. We all felt like we were there with him.
Anyway, probably my last Pope Post but still. :)