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Pope Awes Bay Area Pilgrims

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 21, 2008

She stood among some 57,000 at Yankee Stadium for eight hours, but Leila Souza had one moment near the end when she felt singled out and special.

"He looked right into my eyes and waved," the Tampa woman said of Pope Benedict XVI, who completed his first trip to the United States on Sunday with a Mass at the venerable baseball park. "It was the face of an angel. I will never, ever forget it."

Souza and her two sons were among some 90 Catholics from the Diocese of St. Petersburg who made the journey to New York or Washington to be a witness to the historic six-day visit by the pope that began last Tuesday.

Souza, 50, a native of Brazil, called it the "most inspirational experience of my life."

When she returns home today, she will have a suitcase full of souvenirs blessed by Benedict: T-shirts, pictures, key chains, buttons, prayer books, necklaces and "anything else I could get my hands on." More important, she said, will be the papal directive she got from her church's spiritual leader during his homily at the Mass.

"To be a better neighbor and to respect other people's faiths," said Souza, who attends Incarnation Catholic Church.

Souza's joyous sentiments were shared by several fellow Bay area pilgrims, who reveled in being part of the devoted faithful on a sunny day in a stadium-turned-sanctuary.

Michael Brennan of South Pasadena, who grew up in New York and once sold hot dogs at the ballpark, met up with his brother and sister, who still live there. A longtime fan of Benedict, Brennan was ebullient about the reception the pontiff got in both the Big Apple and the nation's capital.

"He wowed 'em," said Brennan, 64. "He's impressed everybody with his charm, his demeanor and his spirituality. He's a superstar here, to see the reaction he's gotten everywhere he's gone."

Seeing 'The Real Man'

Brennan said the acclaim is long overdue. "He's been demonized since he was elected. Now the people got to see the real man, not the image they had of him."

Like Souza, he intends to bring home the message from the pope to be a more productive Christian. That means increasing his volunteer work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and working for the pro-life cause. "We'll have to see what kind of impact this visit will have on American Catholics," he said. "The proof will be in following through. He's given us the direction and it's up to us to take the action."

Aware that Catholicism needs the younger generation to survive and thrive, Benedict singled out youth in his homily, encouraging them to inspire others, always work on bettering themselves and keep the faith. That resonated with Mary McCook, 20, of Oldsmar.

"This is an age where a lot of kids drift away. But it's so important in my life, because it's helping me grow into the person I'm supposed to be," said the St. Petersburg College fine arts student, who said the Mass brought her to tears on several occasions.

McCook came to New York with Kelli Underwood, 16, and mother Karen Underwood, 44. The Underwoods are from Palm Harbor and attend Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor.

The younger girls wore handmade shirts by Kelli, proclaiming: "I Love the Pope - and You Should Too!" and "God, Love and Everything in Between - That's Why We Love Pope Benedict XVI."

To look out at the packed stadium and be part of a unified Catholic family was a "cool and awesome" experience, Kelli Underwood said. Hearing the pope's call for vocations had a personal impact on the teen, who is considering religious life.

"It's something I'm praying about," she said. If nothing else, her dream is to spend three months in Rome once she graduates from college.

"The church has given so much to me, in dealing with the hardships and struggles everyone goes through," she said. "It's given me something to cling to."

Her mother, Karen, said the papal Mass will definitely stand out as a highlight of her life. "To see all the firefighters, the policemen and the priests and nuns, to see everyone get so excited about their faith, it was a day to remember always," she said. "And to celebrate the Eucharist with the successor to Peter ... well, it doesn't get any better."

'Everybody Was Peaceful'

New York - at least in Yankee Stadium - looked different to Betty Schambeau, 58, of San Antonio. As the chilly morning evolved into a perfect, sunny day, she said she could feel the love among the thousands of strangers

"Everybody was peaceful. No pushing, no shoving, no one acting mean or rude," she said. "You get this many people together and it's like this? It has everything to do with this man's holiness."

Schambeau said the pope's words of encouragement and prayers at huge public events and private meetings in the past week gave American Catholics a boost they needed at a time of some dissent and anger within the U.S. church. But he got a reception at every venue that showed overwhelming devotion and spirited enthusiasm for the faith.

That's a message she hopes he will take back to Rome.

"The Catholic religion is going to make it here," she said. "We've had some doubts about the direction of where we were going in the last few years, with all that's happened. He needed to see that we're going to survive this and be just fine."

Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or mbearden@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Papal visit, for coverage of the historic U.S. trip of Pope Benedict XVI and related links.

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