Marifran Davies vividly remembers waking up well before dawn on Jan. 27, 1999.
She and her husband, Mike, rose early to board a bus for the Trans World Dome in Downtown St. Louis for Mass, where hours later, they would come face-to-face with a man who would later become a saint: Pope John Paul II.
People lined the streets of St. Louis as the papal motorcade passed by in January 1999.
The Davieses of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in St. Charles were among nearly two dozen people who were chosen to receive Holy Communion from the pontiff, whose 31-hour whirlwind pastoral visit to St. Louis 25 years ago this month left a lasting effect upon the Church in St. Louis for decades to come.
Marifran Davies remembered feeling nervous as she and the group came forward for Communion. “I thought, am I worthy? I can’t believe we are doing this,” she said. “I remember being very nervous, but once it was my turn, I felt very calm. To look at him face to face was an overwhelming experience, and I felt calm and peaceful.”
Pope John Paul II’s Jan. 26-27, 1999, visit included three major events: a youth rally at the Kiel Center (now Enterprise Center); Mass at the Trans World Dome (now The Dome at the America’s Center); and an Evening Vespers prayer service at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (still the same name, thankfully).
His visit to St. Louis was part of a journey to North America that included a stop in Mexico for the Synod of Bishops for America. It was his fourth trip to Mexico and seventh to the United States. The St. Louis visit was arranged by Archbishop Justin F. Rigali, then archbishop of St. Louis and a longtime friend of the pope. During his visit, the 78-year-old Holy Father highlighted the ties of unity and solidarity necessary for the new evangelization in the Americas.
St. John Paul II’s presence impacted every age, Marifran said, and in many nations. During his 27-year papacy, he traveled to 129 countries, sharing a message of faith and hope.
“To be in the same room with him was such an experience; you could just feel that he was such a holy man,” Marifran said. “To think of the effect he had on so many people — there was nothing boastful. He was a simple man, but there was an influence that he had on so many people.”
“The pope belongs to you”
Pope John Paul II prayed at an Evening Vespers service on Jan. 27, 1999, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
Pope John Paul II was greeted with sunny skies and warm weather upon his arrival at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 26, an answer to the prayers of the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters (Pink Sisters) leading up to the visit. The short visit took months of planning, with Archbishop Rigali having announced the trip just nine months prior.
Later that day, he headed to the Kiel Center for a youth rally, where he told 20,000 young people, “Tonight, the pope belongs to you.” He called on them to “train yourself for devotion,” as it “will help you to live your faith in Jesus more decisively. This is the ‘training in devotion’ that St. Paul is referring to — the training that makes it possible for you to give yourselves without reservation to the Lord and to the work that he calls you to do!”
He added that a Christian’s training is never finished and said young people should be “ready for what Christ wants of you now. He wants you — all of you — to be light to the world, as only young people can be light. It is time to let your light shine!”
Allison (Rockamann) Dudash was in high school and attended the rally with the youth group at Incarnate Word Parish in Chesterfield. It wasn’t until years later that she understood the significance of the Holy Father’s presence and his impact on young people in the Church.
“The impact for me, beyond remembering the moments and days (of his visit), was what an amazing pope he was for our youth,” Allison said. “I had a great youth ministry experience, and there was an excitement for our Church and archdiocese with youth ministry, which was an important part of Pope John Paul’s focus.”
Allison’s younger sister Courtney Rockamann was 10 years old when the pope visited. She was part of the Archdiocesan Children’s Choir, which sang at the Mass at the Trans World Dome. Even at that age, she noticed a glimpse of the universal Church through his presence.
“It was the beginning of a lot of growth in the Church in the archdiocese,” said Courtney, now director of youth ministry at St. Anselm Parish in Creve Coeur. “There was a lot of joy and excitement.”
Pope John Paul II prayed while kneeling on a needlepoint prie-dieu in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
“The gateway of great Christian witness”
Pope John Paul II also described St. Louis as “the gateway of great Christian witness and evangelical service.” At the Mass with more than 100,000 people at the Trans World Dome, the Holy Father implored Catholics to “draw inspiration and strength for the new evangelization so urgently needed at the approach of the third Christian millennium” from St. Louis’ “immense heritage of holiness and service.”
In his homily, he emphasized the importance of the family, which is the “primary and most vital foundation of society,” a renewal of Christian marriage and support for a culture of life. He also called for an end to every form of racism, which he said is “a plague which your bishops have called one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation.”
“The Spirit will truly bring about a new springtime of faith if Christian hearts are filled with new attitudes of humility, generosity and openness to his purifying grace,” he said. “In parishes and communities across this land holiness and Christian service will flourish if ‘you come to know and believe in the love God has for you.’”
Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr St. George Sisters M. Ancilla, M. Patricia M. Benedicta, M. Antonilla, M. Stephanie and M. Magdalene posed with Pope John Paul II’s cassock. The sisters were part of the group that prepared the archbishop’s residence for the pope’s stay.
Sister M. Benedicta Bourke was a novice with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George when she was asked to move to the archbishop’s residence and help prepare for the pope’s stay there. She joined a team of sisters for about a month, helping during his stay and in the weeks after.
“We prepared the chapel and the rooms he would stay in,” she recalled. “I remember the special flowers in the chapel and ironing the linens.” Sister Benedicta was tapped to help out in the kitchen, even though she didn’t have much experience in that area. Her sense of humor kept the other sisters’ nerves calm as they prepared the meals.
St. John Paul II had a courageousness about him, she said, as if “it’s like you know they’re a saint before they’ve actually died.”
As the pope departed the residence for the last time, and the sisters gathered outside the residence to wave goodbye, “we could see his eyes and facial expression — and we all got the same message,” Sister Benedicta said. “He spoke without even speaking, and it was a message of hope. He told us be the hope that the world needs. It was incredible, and we were filled with incredible joy.”
>> St. John Paul II
Born: Karol Józef Wojtyła, May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland
Elected Pope: Oct. 16, 1978
Died: April 2, 2005, in Vatican City
Canonization: April 22, 2015
Feast Day: Oct. 22
Motto: Totus Tuus (Totally Yours)
>> Pope John Paul II’s speeches and homilies in St. Louis
Homilies
• Homily from the Eucharistic Celebration Jan. 27 at the Trans World Dome: bit.ly/2slZW2g
• Homily from Vespers Jan. 27 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis: bit.ly/2Fm97HI
Messages
• Address at the welcome ceremony Jan. 26 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport: bit.ly/2H6Ib1b
• Address to young people Jan. 26 at Kiel Center: bit.ly/2Fm9EJI
• Written message to children at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital: bit.ly/2TG3B6q
• Farewell address Jan. 27 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis: bit.ly/2sj9JGp
>> Saintly artifacts
Several artifacts from Pope John Paul II’s visit to St. Louis are on display at the Mosaic Museum at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
Artifacts include the chair he sat at during Mass at the Trans World Dome, the stole featuring St. Louis’ patrons, which was worn at the youth rally at Kiel Center, as well as the needlepoint prie-dieu that he knelt upon in prayer in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the cathedral basilica.
The museum also includes displays that explain how the cathedral basilica’s collection of mosaics were designed and applied and a collection of historic vestments and sacred vessels used in various rites of the Church.
The museum is located in the lower level and is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday. A contribution is requested for admission.
The cathedral basilica also offers guided tours weekdays between 10 a.m.-3 p.m., which require a reservation. Tour availability is pending other scheduled events. Call the tour office at (314) 373-8205 for more information. Tours also are available most Sundays after noon Mass, and reservations are not needed unless bringing a large group.
