Beate Joannes Paulus Magnus, Ora Pro Nobis!
As far back as I can remember, I've wanted to see the Pope in person. No, not any pope. The Pope. The newly-beatified John Paul the Great.
On the occasion of his 1987 visit to Los Angeles, my school sent a bus of students to see him along his motorcade route. Only fifth grades and up got to go. I was in first grade. My brother, who was only in fourth grade, got to go because he was accompanied by my sister.
For the 1993 World Youth Day, the youth group we participated in sent a bus of teenagers to Denver. Only those over 15 were allowed to go. I was 12. My brother turned 15 a mere two months before the event. Once again, I was denied the opportunity because I was too young, while my brother just barely snuck in.
I remember in 1987, when I was told that I wouldn't be able to go with my school, I cried to my Mom that I wanted to see the pope. "Well, when you're grown up, you can take a trip to Rome and see him," she offered in consolation.
"Yeah, but it's going to be a different pope then! I want to see this pope!" I'm not quite sure why, at the age of six, I had such a love of JPII.
Fast forward to 2001. I'm in Austria for a semester, and astoundingly, Blessed John Paul the Great is still the pontiff. I remember one day, upon learning that our scheduled trip to Rome and Assisi would include an audience with the pope, how overjoyed I was. I sat in my room, nearly in tears, that I was finally going to receive my childhood wish and see the pope! I remembered back to the 1987 visit to Los Angeles, and the 1993 World Youth Day, and even my mom's advice. "When you're grown up, you can go to Rome yourself." I was grown up, and I was going to Rome!
Fast forward to the Rome/Assisi pilgrimage and, as it turns out, the regular Wednesday papal audience was cancelled that week, because the Pope was going to be on retreat.
*Sniff*
