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| Pope Francis April 2015 photo courtesy of friend M. Houret |
Today
Pope Francis arrives in the United States for a short visit. Whether you’re a
card-carrying Roman Catholic or a pagan, thanks to a curious media, it’ll be hard for you to not know what he's doing while here.
Pierini Fitness
will not be among the large crowds of hundreds of thousands of Americans coming
out to see Pope Francis during perhaps his only trip to America. Those in attendance at the public places where
he’ll appear will be greater in number than those attending a Sunday
stadium-packed NFL football game or some of the biggest crowds you can imagine attending
a very-important and popular public gathering.
My family and I had the pleasure of seeing the two Popes who preceded him – Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
My family and I had the pleasure of seeing the two Popes who preceded him – Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
The first
time was when our family attended Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the
Vatican on Christmas Eve 1994 and then the following Christmas Day as we,
among thousands, listened to a Pope John Paul II Christmas Day sermon followed by his Papal
Blessing.
Six years later, my wife and I traveled to Italy again in 2000 and were present
at one of the weekly Udienze Generale (General Audience) of Pope John Paul II.
And
then ten years later in 2010, my wife and I once again were in Italy and attended an Udienze Generale of Pope Benedict XVI.
I'm looking forward to it.
This middle-aged man will listen to the messages Pope Francis delivers during his brief stay here. I know he'll talk about many difficult-to-listen issues "that are good and necessary for our consciences which are so dormant and accustomed to mediocrity" as the Cuban people were reminded by Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino after the Pope's speech in Havana last Sunday.
I'm looking forward to it.
Welcome
to America Papa!
Pax
Domini sit semper vobiscum
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