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Pope Francis goes to Washington

Dave Borowski | Catholic Herald

Thousands of people watch Pope Francis waving from the Capitol on the Jumbotron

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St. Leo parishioner Peggy Kamin greets Pope Francis on the West Lawn with applause.

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People wait for Pope Francis on the West Lawn of the Capitol.

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Before the sun rose on Washington Sept. 24, lines of people
passed through security near the West Lawn of the U.S.
Capitol. They gave cameras, cell phones, purses and backpacks
to TSA agents who checked them before handing them back to
people to repack.

The lawn was lit only by Jumbotrons placed to give maximum
viewing to the anticipated crowds.

Families laid out blankets around the lawn, grabbing spots
like Klondike Gold Rush stakeholders.

One of the early arrivals was the Anderson family,
parishioners of St. Raymond of Peñafort Church in
Springfield. They staked out space near the fences enclosing
the ticket-only area.

Daryl Anderson saw Pope John Paul II in Monterey, Calif., in
1987. He and his family got their early to see Pope Francis.

“Because he’s the pope,” was Daryl’s answer as to why he
arrived so early.

Another early arrival was Father Luis Guido from San
Bernardino, Calif.

“We can see the impact he has on so many people, especially
youths,” he said.

There were people there who shared the pope’s passion for
immigrants – Dreamers Moms.

The group on the lawn had walked from the York Detention
Center in Pennsylvania to Washington to see Pope Francis.
They held signs pleading for justice, dignity and immigration
reform.

Ada Bermejo said that the group wants to separate the issue
from politics.

“I came here for a better life,” said the Argentine native.

Benjamin Garcia is a third-year theology student at the
Theological College in Washington. He’s from Chile and hopes
to be ordained in 2017.

“It’s quite amazing,” he said, surveying the crowd, “to see
how many people woke up early to see him.”

Garcia said that the pope’s appeal is that he speaks
passionately about charity.

“Charity opens our hearts. The more we give, the more we
get,” he said.

Chuck Viggiani, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Church in Lake Ridge, brought his 6-week old son, Lucas, to
see the Holy Father. Lucas spent most of the morning sleeping
on his father’s shoulder, but Chuck was undeterred.

“It’s definitely a spiritual experience to see the Holy
Father,” he said.

Kirsti Garlock, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church in
Alexandria, said that the pope gives us a message of love and
mercy for everyone. He makes people happy, she said.

A motorcade could be heard rumbling up the barricaded streets
near the Capitol, and this caused a buzz to escalate through
the crowd. Helicopters circled above. A cheer broke out as
the Jumbotrons showed Pope Francis exiting his Fiat and
meeting House Speaker John Boehner.

When the pope was announced to the joint meeting of Congress
to cheers inside, whoops and screams came from the thousands
standing on the West Lawn.

There was more applause on the lawn when the pope said he was
grateful for the invitation to address the joint meeting in
“the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

He told the packed chamber that he was addressing not only
them, but the entire country.

The theme of dialogue was continued as the pontiff said he
wanted to talk to American workers who strive to feed their
families. He wanted to dialogue with the elderly and the
young.

Family was mentioned many times in his speech.

“It is my wish that throughout my visit the family should be
a recurrent theme,” said the pope.

Every reference to family brought waving arms along with
cheers and applause.

He mentioned four Americans, two well-known – Abraham Lincoln
and Martin Luther King. The other two were less familiar –
Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

“Three sons and a daughter of this land, four individuals and
four dreams: Lincoln, liberty; Martin Luther King, liberty in
plurality and non-exclusion; Dorothy Day, social justice and
the rights of persons; and Thomas Merton, the capacity for
dialogue and openness to God,” said the pope.

He asked everyone to remember the “Golden Rule,” from the
Gospel of Matthew, “Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you,” he said.

Again, the assembled cheered.

He wove his hope for the abolition of the death penalty,
immigration reform, economic prosperity and care of the
environment into the “Golden Rule,” and with the lives of
Lincoln, King, Day and Merton.

When he finished his speech with “God bless America,” the
crowd, once again, erupted with “Viva papa Francisco.”

When Pope Francis appeared on Speakers Balcony on the west
front of the Capitol to bless the crowd, more cheers erupted.

“It was inspiring and so true to him, said Beth Lu, a
parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Herndon. “We need to care
for one another.”

Silvia Marquina-Leon, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton Church in Lake Ridge said, “He had a clear, direct
message to convey to (compel us) to take action.”

As people walked to grab cabs, buses or find somewhere to
eat, most walked quietly, some crying, and some talking about
the experience they just had with “the pope of the people.”

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