| World's youth greet pontiff with smiles Jul. 26, 05:59 EDT | |||
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STAFF REPORTERS |
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In that moment of recognition as the Popemobile passed through Exhibition Place, they laughed or wept or bowed their heads in prayer. Some fell into each another's arms. "Papa John is in the house," a young voice cried out. While many shrieked with delight, others sat silently, a rosary in one hand and a tissue in the other to wipe away tears. It was an intimate encounter on the shores of Lake Ontario, although World Youth Day estimates put the huge crowd of young people from 170 countries, speaking dozens of languages, at more than 375,000. They were calmer when the Pope spoke to them for an hour in a passionate appeal to follow the teachings of Christ — to be peacemakers, love the poor and be pure of heart. John Paul also spoke indirectly of Sept. 11. "Last year we saw with dramatic clarity the tragic face of human malice. We saw what happens when hatred, sin and death take command." He concluded with a prayer to Christ: "Look upon them with love and listen to their young hearts, ready to put their future on the line for you." Nicolas Pappalardo, who's from Toronto and works for World Youth Day, thanked the Pope. "You are a compass when we need guidance. You are our luminous beacon of hope in a world of darkness." The pontiff spoke in English, French and a smattering of other languages, and then — playfully and with a sweet smile — he said in his native Polish, so it rhymed: "Long live the Pope, long live youth." They loved it. They loved him. John Paul said he loved them dearly, too, and it was clear by the way he looked at them. "Even without having met you, I commended you one by one in my prayers to the Lord," he told the pilgrims. The Pope was tender with the young — caressing their heads, holding their hands and letting them pour out their hearts as they fell at his feet at the end of the two-hour welcome on the stage at Exhibition Place. Peter Richards, from Halifax, broke down in tears when the Popemobile passed a few metres in front of him. "I'm just so overcome with the power of his presence," he explained. A group from Louisiana travelled three days in a bus for this moment. They were about a half kilometre from the stage. Was the trip worth it? "Yes, ma'am. I'd do it again in a heartbeat," said Marcus Harper, 17. "Maybe I can get closer," said a woman in the crowd as she struggled to see the Pope. "It's not time to be stupid, it's time to enjoy the moment," advised her friend Marie Dinatolo, an Etobicoke occupational therapist. The moment was powerful for her: "As Catholics, we have to be responsible to promote unity and justice, regardless of creed." She added: "I hope all this sacred joy is not just a moment and then disappears." This was the Pope's first visit to Toronto since 1984, the same year he inaugurated World Youth Day — a festival of faith held every two years in cities around the world. Back then he was 64 and still at the height of his physical prowess. Pawel Zuchniewicz, a Polish journalist, recalls meeting John Paul at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. "He was very robust. I remember his grip, which was very strong, and I was weeping like a small child." Now 82, and troubled by arthritis and symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the Pope moves more slowly, his expression is more muted, his delight in the young is seen in small gestures. "I have heard your festive voices, your cries, your songs, and I have felt the deep longing that beats within your hearts: You want to be happy," he told the crowd. But he warned them not to be enticed by money, success and power. Turn instead, he urged them, in his deeply spiritual address, to the beatitudes, which begin, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." He called them "the Magna Carta of Christianity." There was a festive, almost medieval fair feel as young men and women walked the pilgrimage routes to the Exhibition grounds and waited for the Pope to arrive. There was the smell not of incense but of pizza. There was a German brass band, Poles with tambourines, a striped beach ball being tossed through the air, and cool-looking monks in sunglasses and bandanas. The rainbow flash of flags showed their origins: Oklahoma, Texas, the Calgary Stampede, Poland, Lebanon, Vietnam, Nigeria, Colombia, Mozambique. Brother Simon Dankoski, 26, from New York, juggled as he waited. He decided to join the Franciscan Friars of Renewal — whose members beg for food for their community — after World Youth Day two years ago in Rome. It was there he met the Pope. "He said to me, coraggio, courage. In my heart there is a lot of fear — fear of the future, fear of rejection." Dankoski, with his perfect teeth, frizzy beard, gray habit and juggling balls, looked anything but fearful, as the old Monkees tune, "I'm a Believer," roared from the loudspeakers. He looked peaceful, which is how he described life with the Franciscans. Further on was a foursome from the Ivory Coast. "It was very, very difficult to get here," Sister Assumpta Igwe said. " We were supposed to be five and the Canadian government refused categorically to give the fifth visa. We heard that Canada was a very welcoming country. Why are they afraid of communicating with other countries? The Africans are missing here." When the Popemobile first made its way along the route toward the Princes' Gate, throngs of people dashed to press closer against the barriers, or scurry to the nearest pole or tree to climb. Clusters of pilgrims started chanting, "We love you, John Paul Two," the unofficial cheer of World Youth Day. As the Pope passed, waving at the tearful welcomers, pictures were furtively snapped. Many pilgrims, like Jennifer Boedhoe of Holland, had World Youth Day passes dangling around their necks but chose to wait outside the grounds along the car route, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope. "It seemed like the Pope was crying," said the 18-year-old math student, who managed to snap 18 photos while getting elbowed in the back by the crowd. "It's great to be with so many young people who share the same faith because in Holland you don't see that," said Boedhoe, who admitted the experience moved her to tears. Watching the ceremony with the Pope on a huge screen in Coronation Park was Paul Charlebois, 61, of Saskatoon, sitting in his wheelchair. "I didn't have any faith before the accident," Charlebois said, referring to the 1968 auto wreck that left him paralyzed from the chest down. For him, this pilgrimage isn't just about seeing the Pope; it's a celebration of life. "What I thought was life before the accident — drinking, women, carousing — wasn't. Only afterwards was I able to appreciate the true beauty of life, to see God's creation. Before, my life was going nowhere and now I have peace," he said with a smile, as his wife Cecile gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. After the welcoming ceremony, Charlebois continued to stare at the screen, unaware of the people standing up and making their way to the barrier to see the Pope leave. "It was great," Charlebois said at the end of the ceremony. "He's right on. We need to live the beatitudes." |
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