The scene at Nationals Park
It's another stunningly beautiful day in Washington -- sunny, with a projected high of 76 -- and the brand new Nationals Park, which opened last month, is the setting for Pope Benedict XVI's first public Mass in the US. I'm in a press box on the sixth floor level here -- from my seat I can see the domes of the Capitol and the Library of Congress, and to my right and left are stadium seats packed with an estimated 46,000 people.
On the field are 14 cardinals and 250 bishops and 1,300 priests and some very lucky laypeople. Of course, there's sacred ground, and then there's sacred ground -- the infield has been fenced off to protect the grass for baseball, so the seating is only in the outfield and the stands. The altar, in the outfield, was designed by students at the Catholic University of America here in Washington.
Around the stadium, people lined up to buy $20 Benedict T-shirts and other souvenirs. In the stands I met Ann Johnson, 49, of Bel Air, Maryland, who came to the Mass with her daughter and her sister.
"I saw Pope John Paul II in Baltimore, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world when he came out in the popemobile -- I can't describe it to you because I feel like I'm going to cry,'' she said. "The pope does so much good for the world. This pope is so new, everyone is curious to see the kind of relationship he'll have with folks here. I'm looking forward to seeing him.''
Janae Zarate, 21, of Fresno, said she flew out with a group from the Neocatechumenal Way, a Catholic movement, because "I wanted to hear the word of the Lord.'' Zarate said she saw Benedict once before, at World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005. "He gives a sign of hope that there's something else out there, beyond what we see every day in our life,'' she said.
Vern Heeren, 65, and his wife, Carole, 62, told me they converted to Catholicism five years ago, drawn in by the magnetism of John Paul II. The Lincoln, Calif., couple said they got tickets to the Mass from their parish. "It just seemed like a wonderful opportunity,'' Vern Heeren said. "We didn't think there was any possibility we could do something like this.''
Benedict arrived around 9:30, and took a brief spin around the perimeter of the field in his popemobile. There are four choirs performing, with a total of about 500 singers.
The pope is now seated in his throne, and the crowd is cheering. The Mass is about to begin.
posted by Michael Paulson, Globe Staff
For all the blog posts on the papal visit, go here.
