This past Sunday, I had the good fortune to see Pope Francis
in the flesh. I’m not Catholic, but I quite like Francisco; he’s far more
enlightened than many of the leaders in our government. Also, we must be
honest—Pope Francisco is one of the most important leaders on our planet, with
a huge amount of influence, if only as a figurehead.
Last week, the Pope spent 5 days in Colombia. For weeks
beforehand, we saw posters all over the city with the Pope in his robes taking
a step forward. That was the theme of his visit: Let us take the first step. “Demos
el primer paso.”
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| Let's take the first step |
The purpose of his visit was clear: to bring a message of
forgiveness to Colombia, a country that has recently signed a peace accord with
the FARC guerillas, but still remains a nation wounded and divided by 50 years
of horrific conflict. For background, you should know that the peace accord was
brought to a public vote and the majority voted against signing the peace accord
with the FARC; many Colombians believe that it is wrong to help reestablish the
guerillas into civic life after all the violence and strife they have caused
since the mid-1960’s.
All of the speeches he gave had the same
message—forgiveness, reconciliation, and unity are possible. He met with both
sides of the conflict—people who had endured violence and those who had caused
it.
Video from Al Jazeera about the Pope's visit to Colombia
Colombia being quite a religious country, having the Pope visit
was a very big deal. The people of Cartagena were thrilled to have him end his
visit here and hold Sunday mass in their city, as well. It was a great honor to
host the pontiff, and several of my students were thrilled to have the chance
to sing in choirs that performed for him.
On Sunday morning, I waited alongside many Cartageneros to
see Mr. Pope pass by in his Papa-mobile. What a drive-by! You’ll see from the
video that it was very speedy passing. But it was also impressive how
impassioned people were to see him, even for a split second, many of them
holding up babies and rosaries to receive the Pope’s holy blessing as he
passed.
VIDEO
Afterwards, everyone rushed into the walled city to the
place where he would be doing the noon Angelus prayer, but we found that it was
accessible only for those with tickets. Luckily, though, the Pope was making
some rounds in the walled city so I got to see him a second time, this time
right in front of Norbert and my favorite gelato shop. I’m pretty sure that
makes the ice cream sacred now, right?
VIDEO
Later that afternoon, I watched the television coverage of
the rest of the Pope’s visit to Cartagena from my friend’s hospital room right
on the bay. He was taken by helicopter to fly over the harbor and bless the
statue of La Virgen del Carmen, and he flew right over us! There were many
boats anchored around the statue, trying to get a bit of the Pope’s blessing as
he passed overhead.
For the last event of the day, he presided over Sunday mass
at an enormous makeshift church that they created in Cartagena’s port. It was
funny to see all the Catholic symbols surrounded by massive cargo containers.
The crowd in attendance was gigantic and many had been waiting all day for this
opportunity to pray with the Pope. I watched his ceremony from the television
screen, and I was moved when he asked his fellow people to pray for him, while also praying for their loved ones at our home, Mother Earth.
Later on, while watching the TED talk he gave (See below), he ended his talk asking
the viewers to think of him with tenderness, and I think that’s a brave and
beautiful thing, to request love and blessings and tenderness from the world
around you.
