Security gates opened at 4 a.m. for the expected thousands of
people to stake out their spot along the parade route for
Pope Francis’ historic visit to Washington Sept. 23. Though
the parade route was short – just a few blocks between the
Ellipse and a portion of the National Mall – those few
precious minutes of seeing the pope in the popemobile meant
so much to so many.
“I never thought I’d be that close, I got chills,” said
parade-goer Ana Maria Osorio, an employee of U.S. Health and
Human Services on assignment from San Francisco. “It was
awesome. I was near such a happy, joyous group, and the day
isn’t over yet. I am going to listen to Mass on the Jumbotron
next,” she said.
When the official schedule was first announced, most people
thought they would have no chance of seeing Pope Francis
unless they were able to get a ticket to the Mass. Then, the
Archdiocese of Washington announced Sept. 10 a papal parade
would be open to the public. No ticket required.
After meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House
Wednesday morning, the pope left his tiny Fiat for a Jeep
Wrangler converted to a popemobile for the parade around the
Ellipse.
Crowds were large – but surprisingly very patient, joyful and
courteous – and some waited for more than seven hours for a
glimpse of Pope Francis as he drove by.
A group of excited sisters, Servants of the Lord and the
Virgin of the Matará, stood out in the crowd in their
blue and grey habits along the barricade at the corner of
Constitution Avenue and 15th Street. The sisters from
Avondale, Pa., chanted, clapped and welcomed “Papa Francisco”
all morning, and spoke with curious members of the crowd
after the parade.
Sister Mary, Mother of Truth shared why she thought so many
people came out for the event. She said, “They see in Pope
Francis the joy of Christ. He would tell you himself that he
can only give what he has received from Christ.”
Shannan Fratto from Silver Spring came to see Pope Francis,
but this is not the first pope she has seen up close. She was
plucked out of the crowd as a baby, and handed to Pope John
Paul II for a blessing and a kiss at an event in Detroit in
1987. She and her husband Mike came to the parade with their
2-year-old daughter Georgina at the urging of her family “to
keep the tradition going.” Fratto said Georgina has been
walking around all week saying “Hi, pope.” At the parade her
little hands grasped a small papal flag and she clapped every
time the crowd cheered.
The mood of the crowd was happy, and this was before Pope
Francis arrived. Groups of people stopped to pray, others
started “the wave,” and others shouted a call and response
across the street of “We love Francis, yes we do. We love
Francis, how about you?”
“People don’t know why they are so happy when they are around
him, but (Pope Francis) would likely tell them that it is the
joy he has from following Christ,” said Sister Mary, Mother
of Truth.
Rausch can be reached at [email protected].
