Tuesday, January 26, 1999
St. Louis swells for Pope's arrival
BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ST. LOUIS — With just a day to go until Pope John Paul II's arrival, this city's preparations kicked into overtime Monday as workers hoisted banners, closed streets and braced for a crush of visitors that could reach 1 million people.
The pope arrives from Mexico City at 2 p.m. EST today and will ride in a motorcade along city streets to a downtown youth rally, which will include dozens of teens from the Tristate.
National Guard troops assembled security fences along the route Monday, Secret Service agents swept buildings, and pilgrims roamed among three-story banners and billboards in Polish welcoming the pope to this city of 2.5 million.
“I've been through the World Series and everything here, and this is the greatest,” said Elaine Baca, 57, a Busch Stadium concessions employee.
“If you're Catholic, this is the big man of the church, and in St. Louis.”
There were last-minute pressures confronting officials. An auto show occupied the Trans World Dome until Sunday evening, stalling set- up for Wednesday's papal Mass until early this morning. But another long-standing fear — the late-January weather — was allayed with a forecast of clear weather and temperatures in the 50s today.
The Papal Plaza, a downtown space of several blocks that will host an outdoor youth march Tuesday morning, was abuzz with food vendors, warming tents and Jumbotron screens on Monday. The pope will meet with President Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, and rest before heading to the youth rally at 6 p.m.
In what was expected to be a major point of discussion in the meeting with Mr. Clinton, the Vatican condemned the latest U.S. bombing raids on southern Iraq on Monday.
In a statement issued by spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican said the military action “confirms once again” the pope's belief
that “military measures don't resolve problems in themselves, rather they aggravate them.”
In Mexico City, a day after ministering to the masses, Pope John Paul II reached out to the rich Monday, celebrating a private Mass for bankers, politicians and other church patrons.
At the Vatican's nunciate, or embassy, in Mexico City, well-dressed couples climbed out of luxury cars for the gathering, offering a stark contrast to Sunday's exuberant Mass before an estimated 1 million people at a dusty, trash-filled auto racetrack.
John Paul urged some 250 bankers, politicians, donors and charity leaders to “strengthen the spirit” by bringing religious values to public life, said Carlos Medina Plascencia, an opposition leader in the Chamber of Deputies.
In his fourth trip to Mexico, the pope has stressed the need to preach to both rich and poor. Critics have contended that in recent years, sectors of the church have swung too far toward a radical “preference for the poor” after favoring the powerful earlier.
In St. Louis, meanwhile, for every preparation taking place in public, there were countless others taking place behind the scenes.
The choir that will perform at the papal Mass and at an ecumenical prayer service continued to rehearse the musical prayers that were commissioned for the pope's visit.
The choir, which sings at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, includes Finneytown native Katherine Zenk, a graduate of Mother McAuley High School in College Hill.
Rehearsing Sunday in the basement of the cathedral, Ms. Zenk, a mezzo soprano, said the looming performance hadn't given her pause until a few days ago. The choir recorded a CD of the music for the Mass in December.
“It's been so busy coordinating everything that it didn't sink in until a few days ago,” said Ms. Zenk, 26, of St. Louis, an accountant for the Salvation Army. “I was driving around in my car thinking, "Oh, my gosh, what am I doing?' It's been such a whirlwind.”
Media representatives from around the world are arriving as well. Officials gave out an estimated 2,500 press credentials — more than three times the number in September, when St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' home-run record.
Another Cardinal great, Stan Musial, will attend the Wednesday evening prayer service. Mr. Musial, who like the pope is of Polish descent, has known John Paul for nearly three decades. The two met when the pope was archbishop of Krakow and Mr. Musial was helping with the Polish Olympic Committee.
Other participants in the papal trip had a chance to enjoy the excitement now that their work is done. Cloistered nuns at the Passionist Nuns Convent and Chapel, just west of the city, baked 56,150 Communion wafers for Wednesday morning's Mass at the Trans World Dome. Several hundred Tristate residents are heading to St. Louis for the Mass, and the Passionist nuns themselves will make a rare journey outside their walls to attend it.
“The idea of being in the same space, the same room with our Holy Father, who is the vicar of Christ on Earth — we would probably see him better if we stayed home and watched it on TV, but his presence is magnetic,” said Sister Marie Therese, who with four other women makes an average of 40,000 wafers a week.
Communion wafers consist of flour and water. The mixture is poured on large Dutch presses that resemble waffle irons, then stamped into tiny round disks. Roman Catholics believe the wafers become the body of Jesus Christ when a priest consecrates them.
Elsewhere, groups who differ with Catholic teachings held a candlelight vigil Monday night outside the cathedral to push for reform in the church. About 500 participants called for the ordination of women, a married priesthood and more democracy in church institutions.
“We want to erode some of the hardness of the male church, to allow full participation in the decision-making processes that affect us,” said Diana Oleskevich, 51, of St. Louis.
A glass box was assembled just outside the cathedral Monday to enable the pope to speak from its steps Wednesday. He will seal an inner door in the cathedral that will remain closed until Christmas.
The pope's schedule
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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