Charlotte pilgrims happy to brave lines, security for Sunday Mass with Pope Francis

To attend this Sunday Mass, they have traveled hundreds of miles and will endure long lines, rigorous security checks and hours of standing, waiting, and standing some more.

But these seven Catholic pilgrims from the Charlotte area couldn’t be happier.

At 4 p.m. Sunday, on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, they and about a million other souls will be with Pope Francis as he celebrates the Mass – a sacramental family meal of bread and wine that, according to their faith, will be changed into the body and blood of Christ.

For Catholics, it’s a blessing to be in the presence of any pope, whom they consider a successor to Peter, the apostle Jesus picked more than 2,000 years ago to lead what has become a worldwide church.

But this pope, Francis, has touched these Catholics from parishes in and around Charlotte in a special way. They say his humility, his call for mercy and his deep concern for the poor have enriched their faith and rescued a Catholic Church that was struggling not long ago with an image tarnished by a child sex abuse scandal.

“He’s putting a face of compassion on the church,” said Joe Diaz, 61, a deacon at Charlotte’s St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. “He is setting the example of what my service, and others’, should look like.”

Added his wife Carol, 61, a retired teacher of autistic children who will attend the Mass with him: “Joe and I work with the homeless. ... So to have a pope who is so aware of his hungry and homeless brethren – including a lot of children – means a lot to us.”

The couple, married 38 years, will be be among hundreds of Charlotte-area Catholics at the Mass. Some of the others:

Frank O’Rourke

The Rev. Frank O’Rourke, pastor of St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Charlotte, plans to be one of the Mass’ thousands of “con-celebrants” – robed priests celebrating with Pope Francis this central act of Catholic worship.

A Philadelphia native who was ordained a priest in Charlotte 40 years ago, O’Rourke, 72, said Francis’ “actions and spirit have freed me up and encouraged me to be a better priest. His simplicity says to me, ‘You can do that. God is with you.’ His humanity – it’s inspiring.”

O’Rourke had a busy Saturday in Charlotte – a funeral, a wedding and two Masses – but was to fly to Philadelphia on Sunday morning. “It’ll be a great opportunity to join Pope Francis and a cast of thousands at the table of the Lord,” he said. “I’m looking forward to ... savoring the joy, the excitement.”

Krista Jasso

Krista Jasso, 20, has been here for more than a week. A student at Belmont Abbey College who attends St. Matthew, Charlotte’s largest Catholic church, she is the youngest member of a “digital street team” for Aleteia, a Catholic news service. Her job in Philadelphia: Discover and tell good stories, via social media, of pope-inspired hope (check the hashtag #PopeIsHope).

To help reach those on Twitter, her team created smiley-faced Emojis of the pope. Jasso placed a sticker of one – with Pope Francis giving the peace sign in front of the American flag – on the back of her cell phone.

“I’m really excited to see the pope,” said Jasso, who believes Pope Francis has a connection with Catholics and others of her generation. “He sees the good that Millennials have to offer and wants us to reach our fullest God-given potential. I find that inspiring and it’s pushing me to greater service.”

Keating family

John Keating, 45, made the trip by car, arriving in Philadelphia on Saturday with wife, Toni, and their four children – ages 12, 11, 8 and 5. A member of St. Michael in Gastonia, Keating coaches the men’s soccer team at Belmont Abbey College.

For him, the pilgrimage to see the pope is a family affair in more ways than one.

“If my own dad was here (from South Africa) on a trip, I would certainly go see him. The same goes for our spiritual father, the pope,” Keating said. “I’m sure we won’t get close enough to Francis for selfies, but to be in the same area (as the spiritual descendant of Peter) is a connection going back millennia that, as a Catholic, you feel acutely.”

And, Keating added, he hopes his children will come away with enduring memories. “There’s nothing more attractive than holiness,” he said.

Student and teacher

Philadelphia-bound buses carrying 55 students, teachers and parents left Charlotte Catholic High School last week. Among those on board were Lindsay Molina, 16, a junior from Fort Mill, and Monica Friedman, 54, a religion teacher at the school who lives in south Charlotte. Both attend St. Matthew.

For Molina, Pope Francis is a revolutionary who has focused more on dos than don’ts in reminding Catholics of their mission to help others.

His message, which she said resonates with her and other teens, is that “being Catholic isn’t all about telling people, ‘Oh, this is wrong.’ Sometimes the best thing you can do is love and serve others. ... And teenagers – we’re always used to being told ‘Don’t do this.’ But this pope is giving us something to do.”

Before her family moved to the Carolinas, they lived in Appleton, Wis., where Molina worked summers on a Mission of Hope project that helped poor families get affordable groceries, haircuts and more.

She worked at the station that washed their feet and gave them clean socks and new shoes. “These are things we all need,” said Molina.

As Friedman looked ahead to the Sunday Mass, she said she had hopes this weekend for her students and for herself, a teacher at Charlotte Catholic for 18 years.

In his humility, his love and his determination to build bridges, she said, Pope Francis “just really reminds you of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. He calls you. That’s a breath of fresh air. And it brings a lot of hope, especially for our kids. They’re at the age where they say (to the pope), ‘Yes, I hear you, but can I do something now?’ And he’s saying, ‘Yes! Do it. Do it with no judgment. Because you are that body of Christ.’ ”

She is hoping the time with Pope Francis in Philadelphia will transform her.

Instead of just reading about the pope and the Mass of 1 million, Friedman wanted to experience it.

“I truly believe that the Holy Spirit is at work. And the only way to fully grasp it is when you’re feeling that experience with people who share your same belief,” she said.

“Therefore,” she added, “I know that I will not be the same person” after Sunday.

‘What about you?’

On Saturday, Pope Francis arrived in Philadelphia, the last leg of his first trip to the United States.

Pope Francis began the day with a Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, where he told the story of Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia heiress and philanthropist with a Charlotte-area connection. She became a nun after Pope Leo XIII asked “What about you?” when she asked him in 1887 to send missionaries to Native American missions she and her sisters were financing.

Drexel, who was canonized a saint in 2000, went on to spend a fortune helping to finance the building of churches – including the basilica at Belmont Abbey and St. Peter Catholic Church in uptown Charlotte.

Carol and Joe Diaz from Charlotte were outside, not inside the cathedral and watched the Mass on a giant television.

But then, just as Pope Francis and the other priests were preparing the congregation inside for Communion, Carol Diaz snapped a picture on her phone: It was of a rainbow that had suddenly appeared.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Charlotte pilgrims happy to brave lines, security for Sunday Mass with Pope Francis."