The death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV signals a change in the Catholic leadership. My prayer is that the new pope will continue to lead the church in progressive directions.
Forty-two years ago, I met Pope John Paul II. Here are a few memories of that meeting.
My college choir toured Europe in 1983 and one of the stops was the Vatican. We were in the audience of 10,000 in the Papal Audience Hall for one of the weekly messages. One of the attending officials announced the visiting groups who were in attendance that day. As the names of each group were read, that group would stand and clap and/or cheer for themselves. The pope would then politely give a welcoming nod.
Hearing the response of each group, my choir director, in his most stern voice turned to us and whispered, “We are not clapping or yelling.” So, when the man read, “we have the Concert Choir from Chapman College in Orange, California,” we stood as the other groups had, but then our director gave us the pitch, and we sang “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” (Latin: Glory to God in the highest!).
Time, then, seemed to stand still, or at least move much slower. Pope John Paul II, who appeared to be equally unimpressed with each group cheering or clapping for themselves, turned to us and smiled and waved. The announcing dignitary then continued reading his long list of visitors.
But the pope turned to his assistant and whispered something. That guard then went over to the next guard who took the message to the next guard who came up to my director and said, “Please stay afterwards, Pope John Paul II wants to see you.” Even my 18-year-old thoroughly Protestant heart began to tremble with the thought that the pope wanted to meet us.
The pope then went on to give his weekly message to the world (which he delivered in five different languages). After all this, everyone was dismissed, except us. And the railing that separated us from the platform was pulled back and we were invited to come forward.
Even though I was a lowly freshman, and quite clearly the worst singer in the group, I took over. I immediately said, “Formation A” which was one of the two positions that we had as a choir when we would perform.
I said that for a couple of reasons: One, the choir, in their excitement of the moment, needed some direction; And two, and most importantly for me, it put me in the front center while “Formation B” put me in the back row (Mom didn’t raise a fool here!).
When we were in place, the pope came and stood directly in front of me! Being 18 and not knowing what one does when the pope stands six inches from you, (Mom didn’t instruct me on that one) I did what my heart said to do. I put my hand on his shoulder and gently patted his back.
After a few publicity photos, he turned around and faced us. Almost instantaneously my fellow choir members surged forward toward him extending their hands, many of whom also took out their cameras and started taking close-range photos as fast as they could wind their disposable cameras. I, too, felt the need to take a photo. But, through the camera lens, I saw how Pope John Paul II winced each time those cameras flashed in his face. They were flashing fast furiously. And so, being so close, I put my camera down.
Instead, I reached out and took his right hand and kissed his ring. I can clearly remember thinking/praying in my head, “God, bless this man.” He then pulled his hands away from the throng and grabbed my hand with both of his hands. I don’t know what he was thinking/praying at the time, but it certainly felt like “God, bless this young man.”
While I strongly disagreed with Pope John Paul II’s stance about birth control, the leadership of women in the church, and reproductive rights, just to mention a few things, at that time, I still knew he was a man of God and a man of peace.
Pope Francis took the Catholic Church in some wonderful new directions. I hope Pope Leo XIV will continue that theme and bring healing where there is pain. I also hope the new pope will be a person of God and a person of peace like Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis before him.
My greeting to the new pope would be the same as my greeting was to his predecessor many years earlier: God, bless this man.
Shalom, Paul