In the Presence of the Pope

Religious sisters, youth groups, social justice ministries in Diocese to attend papal events

CLIFTON  Excitement is building as American Catholics prepare to welcome Pope Francis when he visits the United States for the first time next week. The popular pontiff will be making a three-city tour as he visits Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.

In the Paterson Diocese, some of faithful are looking forward to Pope Francis’ visit with several different groups planning on participating in some of the papal events.

Seven Sisters of Christian Charity serving in Passaic and in Mendham, will be volunteering during the papal Mass in Philadelphia Sept. 27 for the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families. Sister of Christian Charity Ann Marie Paul, director of the Women’s Neighborhood Center in Passaic, said, “This will be my first experience attending a papal Mass. When it was confirmed that the Holy Father would celebrate Mass on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, the sisters I live with in Passaic were excited to find out what we could do to help out since Philly is so close to us. Two of the sisters, Sister Mary Amata and Sister Marie Jose, have volunteered to be nurses and the rest of us will do various tasks, such as crowd control, giving directions and providing for people with disabilities.”

In order to volunteer, the seven sisters went through a background check and attended a training webinar to prepare them for this immense event, which is expected to draw more than 1.5 million people to the Mass.

“The visit of Pope Francis to the U.S. is important because he brings with him the message of unconditional love, which is a message all of us need to hear right now,” said Sister Ann Marie said. “There is so much division — political, religious, social — that we need to be reminded of the importance of right relationships. We need to be reminded that we need each other and the poorest among us cannot be forgotten. In fact, the poorest should be our first priority. Pope Francis will bring that message with him to the White House, to Congress, to the U.N. and to Philadelphia.”

Also attending the papal Mass in Philadelphia will be youth from Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Parish in Wayne. They will be staying at St. Denis Parish in Havertown, outside Philadelphia.

“This will be a true pilgrimage experience for the young people,” said Cathy Conlee, youth minister at IHM, who will be leading a group of nine teenagers and three chaperones from her parish. The youth group will be leaving New Jersey on Saturday morning to head south to Philadelphia and plan to participate in the Festival of Families, which is part of the World Meeting of Families, later that evening and then the attend the papal Mass on Sunday afternoon.

“The young people are very excited to see Pope Francis. He has been very relatable to all people because he comes from a place where he seems to understand who we are,” said Conlee.

Because of Pope Francis’ down-to-earth style many young people connect with him and the ultimate aim for a Catholic youth is a “pope selfie,” chuckled Conlee about the goal of one ninth-grader who will be attending. “It won’t exactly be a selfie more like a selfie with a million other Catholics,” she laughed. “We actually have very simple goals for this experience. We hope we get a good spot for the parade route so the young people can get a glimpse of Pope Francis and for the Mass, we hope to at least see the Mass on a jumbotron.”

To prepare the young people for a prayer service and meeting with the parents about logistics and a teaching catechesis relating to the Pope’s visit.

Eni Honsberger, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life, will also be in Philadelphia participating in the World Meeting of Families. “I’m excited to be with like-minded people, who want to live out their faith in the domestic Church,” she said. “I want to bring the ideas that the speakers talk about back to the Diocese to improve family life here. The meeting shines a light on families, which have been cast in a negative light in recent years. This is where they will be celebrated and appreciated. There will be keynote speakers and workshops on topics such as how to create more family time at home, fatherhood and how to bring family life programs into the parish.”

Participating in the pope’s visit to New York in anticipation of his address at the United Nations is the Social Justice Ministry of St. Mary Parish in Pompton Lakes. Members will take part in a multi-faith convergence called “Light the Way” on Sept. 24 at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, a few blocks from the U.N. from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Leaders from the Catholic community as well as other faith groups will offer prayers, meditations and music in support of the pope’s address to world leaders on topics of climate change and world poverty. The group invites all parishioners to participate and to meet at the plaza at 4 p.m.

“It’s very exciting to have the pope speak at the United Nations,” said Jackie Schramm, director of St. Mary’s social justice ministry. “His message is clear and he tells us we have to be better stewards of the planet. On top of his encyclical, Laudato Si’, I see his visit building up momentum on bringing to light the issue of climate change. From all walks of life, people are coming together on this issue.”

Franciscan Sister of Peace Ellen Byrnes, pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park, will get to see the pope will be at the Vesper Service for Religious at St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City Sept. 24 as member of the general council of her community.

“I look forward to his message to religious. It feels special to be part of this service in such a beautiful cathedral. He truly inspires all those who serve the Church,” said Sister Ellen.

No matter what events the faithful in the diocese take part in, the experience of being in the presence of the Holy Father is the opportunity of a lifetime. “I am most looking forward to the fellowship that will be created by the pope’s visit,” said Sister Ann Marie. “I’m sure we could get much better views from television watching from home but being among people who will have gone to great lengths to have this experience with each other will be exciting and unifying.”

[Contributing to this story was Michael Wojcik, news editor.]