Introduction
I thought this was going to be a typical veneration of a saint’s relic, but there were already a few little things that would make this one extra special event before I set foot on Illinois soil. While I have been through Chicago’s O’Hare airport, I’ve never stayed in the state. But my first presence in the state of Illinois wasn’t any part of the specialness previewed to me as the Diocese of Peoria laid out the assignment description to me. They weren’t getting just any relic, but a relic of one of the most beloved figures of all Catholic history: Pope John Paul II.
The Catholic Church has a lot of saints and great people throughout its 2000-year presence, but there is an echelon of saints that simply stand out for the exemplary lives they led which not only got them into Heaven, but also a revered place in Church history. While John Paul II is now only a “Blessed” at this time, Pope Francis has declared his canonization date in 2014. So, the most photographed, most-traveled, and perhaps most famous pope in history is coming to a small diocese in the Midwest.
“Welcome to Peoria,” said the Twister
The forecast called for temperatures in the 50’s and the near constant wind that this area is [in]famous for. I had no idea that dozens of tornados would be part of the welcoming party.
The morning after arriving at the Nazareth House Retreat Center in Henry, IL the weather began to deteriorate. The skies continually darkened and the wind kept getting worse. Murmurs circulated about a Tornado Watch, then a possible Tornado Warning. A few minutes later, the rain turned into hail, plonking off the roof and windows. “Oh, this one is serious,” I thought to myself. I placed my equipment bag near the door just in case we had to run.
The hail stopped and the rain died down.
I waited for the other shoe to drop.
“Let’s go! Now, now, now,” my mom busted through my room’s door. Her phrase punctuated by the distant moan of the sirens.
In the handful of seconds it took me to get from my room to the door leading outside — ironically to safety — the precipitation went horizontal. I had to run through a gray wind tunnel of rain, hail, and leaves. I, along with several couples on an Engaged Encounter retreat, nuns, and my mother and sister made it to the basement safely and huddled there for nearly 2 hours.
We had no idea how close to the definition of destruction we were on that day. The very same system spawned an F-4 twister that meandered through Washington, IL just 30 miles south of us. The state of Illinois and others to the east were a minefield of funnels. We were very lucky.
Very.
While I was relieved that we suffered no damage or loss, I wasn’t surprised that meeting a pope wasn’t preceded by bad weather. Over 10 years ago, I went through a bad storm before the final Mass with JPII of World Youth Day in Toronto. Don’t get me wrong, scrambling for a basement during my first tornado did get the adrenaline flowing, but I wasn’t expecting a velvety smooth assignment.
The People
Aside from the tornado, the Midwest and its residents welcomed me with open arms and their notorious kindness. Aside from the owners of L’Antica Griglia Toscana in Rome (eat there. Trust me.), I don’t readily recall being so warmly, family-like welcomed by a client. To be honest, I’m just the photographer, no need to treat me like literal family, but they did.
I probably spent just as much time shaking hands, being warmly introduced, and eating with the client and those who helped me as I did actual shooting and post-production. What the Diocese of Peoria lacked in size they easily made up for it with their open arms. This wasn’t a big metropolitan Catholic collective, and it didn’t matter. And that Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC is as jolly and sharp as they come.
That was the lasting impression the people within the diocese’s fold gave me, warm and razor-sharp. And it made it a pleasure to know them and work with them. Very professional and very jovial.
Those words — jovial and professional — aren’t usually in the same sentence when you’ve a “this is only happening once and it’s a big deal” assignment on your hands. Totally compensated for the twister, cold temperatures, and constant wind … that damn wind!
The Pope, in Pictures
The whole place was abuzz over such a rare relic of such a famous, history-shaping man visiting such a small place. Even in the shadow of the weekend’s destruction and loss of life, this visitation started to glow. Hard to describe, but there is some sort of calm that the combination of anticipation and reverence produces. I’ve experienced it over and over: something’s gonna happen, we’re excited and working hard, but kinda calm. The atmosphere just shifts.
In the middle of the night, there he was. A essential part of this man — his blood — encased in a silver book.
“That’s it?!?” the journalist inside me said. But the history alone quickly put it all into context what was before me, transforming into, “that’s it.”
It was at that point, I knew it was time to tell the story.
Stop #1, The Cathedral of St. Mary:
The seating capacity of the cathedral is approximately 1300. They added many fold-out chairs, opened up an overflow area just down the street for another 600, and people were standing where they could. All these efforts weren’t enough to hold the crowds that came for hours to venerate the relic. Even with gusts additionally chilling the already 30-degree air, people’s spirits were high.
Stop #2, The Spalding Pastoral Center:
The morning after the opening evening at the cathedral, students from the Catholic schools throughout the diocese were brought to the pastoral center to learn about the pope and his significance as well as to see the relic for themselves. For many of these youth, John Paul II is a pope of another generation with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis being more familiar to them. Before visiting the relic, the children toured a section of a museum and saw a film that updated them on Blessed John Paul II and his significance to the Church and the world.
Final Stop, John Paul II Newman Center:
The last place the relic was to be displayed and venerated was near Illinois State University in Normal, IL. Here, a crowd more familiar with the late pope would be present to venerate. Again, the pews of the main chapel and the overflow area were packed tightly. Veneration lasted for 6 hours. College students, the elderly, children, men, and women all went up to pay their respects to a pope who started World Youth Day.
The emotion in John’s mom’s eyes in the above photo was everything in the two days that relic was there. He had a huge smile and she was trembling in her voice and hands. It was good enough for her that her son got to experience this. She couldn’t express what she was feeling and didn’t need to.
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