Great idea for a kind of parish scrap book of personal memories of the Papal visit Father Keith - thank you. For what it's worth one of mine is that I happened to be jogging by the Papal Nuncio's residence on Parkside Wimbledon Common on Saturday morning morning at 8am and joined the crowd of about 150 mainly young people for some spontaneous guitar folk (I'm not sure that those are the Pope's favourite hymns but never mind) singing and other vocal musical prayerful and visual support in a great and sunny atmosphere. We glimpsed him as he left at 8:15 am.There was a largish but friendly police presence. Most of the police officers seemed to be as young as the flag waving Catholic contingents in the crowd were and they seemed happily bemused by this kind of 'demonstration'. On the Sunday morning at the same time the crowd was larger still and he came half way across Parkside to greet some of the younger people. Archbishop Vincent Nicolls was given a cheer too and in return he distributed some postcards signed by His Holiness Such positive happy demonstrating with guitar and folk song singing (reminiscent of the 1960s) might not be what today's police are used to but perhaps that too in its own way helps to spread the Word. Pope Benedict is a very different man from Pope John Paul II but both have brought the same news of love and truth. We in Britain (and Wimbledon) are privileged to have been visited by both.

on the Tube from Wimbledon alone. All with their Papal Visit backpacks and a woman in teens telling someone in a shop, she was going to see The Pope and being exicted about it.

Our family had a wonderful experience last Saturday seeing the Pope in Hyde Park.  We took videos and photos of the event, and I was wondering how can we upload them to share with the Parish?

 Group 5 had a wonderfully bonded time--relatives of parishoners from Spain joined the group, so an international group... On the train the carriages were FULL of people with their pilgrim packs, so we really felt part of a wider community. We far outnumbered the few with placards demonstrating against the visit. The feeling of bonding with other catholics singing "Shine Jesus Shine", and the way tens of thousands of people simultaneously fell to their knees at the benediction was an experience we can never forget.

Thank you group 5 for being an easy fun group. Photos will be uploaded.

I'm only 16 and I've already seen the pope!! Up at 7:00 on sunday and by 7:30 me and my family were in position outside parkside. We waited a full hour, all the while the crowd was steady growing, and then out of nowhere he appeared suddenly at the front door. He came out and blessed families with babies who had been selected beforehand. After blessing the last family he turned to the crowd and raised his hand up and smiled. The crowd was roaring and it was a really positive atmosphere. Everyone was so pleased to see the pope, literally only 4-5 meters away. After a few minutes he got into his car and left parkside for the last time. I got a nice video on my phone of the whole thing, so I can upload a picture from any point, or even the whole thing!

I met up with a group of the Police who were taking a rest in Wimbledon Common. They were extremely pleasant and had been promised a blessing from the Pope at the end of his visit. They told me that they were enjoying this assignment very much and especially the good nature of the crowds. Everyone I talked to found Pope Benedict's visit to be uplifting.

The chief highlights of the Visit for me were the ecumenical Service of Evening Prayer at Westminster Abbey on Friday evening and the Holy Father’s discourse at Lambeth Palace earlier that day – predictable choices for the parish contact on the Commission for Christian Unity. Two brief quotes from the Lambeth Palace discourse:
“... the unity Christ willed for his disciples will only come about in answer to prayer, through the action of the Holy Spirit, who ceaselessly renews the Church and guides her into the fullness of truth” and

“Let us entrust the fruits of that work (the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission) to the Lord of the harvest, confident that he will bless our friendship with further significant growth.”

I saved most of the Westminster Abbey service on DVD: Dr Mary Tanner, President of the World Council of Churches, reading the passage from Philippians about confessing Jesus Christ as Lord - a Wesleyan hymn - a gospel reading about the disciples quarrelling over who should have precedence from Rev. John Christie, Moderator of the Church of Scotland - addresses from the Holy Father and the Archbishop of Canterbury, equally mindful of the historic significance of the occasion – brief readings from a number of young people – the Archbishop and the Pope praying together at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor – and the final procession.

Of the media programmes preparing for the visit my favourite was gay Catholic Mark Dowd’s “Trials of the Pope”. He began asking whether he could live with Benedict XVI as his leader and concluded that his “difficult teaching” on homosexuality was trumped by “weightier issues” like trying to find common ground with atheists and his emerging reputation as an eco-warrior. The fact that Mark Dowd is attracted to other men was not, he decided, “a reason to turn my back on two thousand years of salvation history”.
 

I was undecided about attending any of the events as i don't particularly like big crowds and thought he would be so far away, that the better viewing would be the television. i could not believe my luck when i took a drive upto Parkside on Sunday morning and Pope Benedict appeared a few mertres in front of us and blessed the crowd. I met other parishoners there, one of whom has the most amazing photos.

Well the Marshalls managed to see Pope Benedict 4 times in Wimbledon! We were virtually camping out on Parkside over the weekend, and what an amazing experience it was, especially for Annabel and James who were both so excited! Having such young children we felt that the timings and crowds of the big events were not suitable for us but we so wanted to experience the visit at first hand and also join the crowds in support of our Pope. James lead the Parkside crowd in shouts of "Benedict!Benedict!" on the Friday evening and now wants a playmobil popemobile for his birthday. Any help with that would be much appreciated! We watched as the helicopters took off on the Sunday morning and waved goodbye. Someone in the Parkside crowds had a banner which read "Stay with us" which sums it up for me. How wonderful to have him so near for those 4 days and how sad when he left, but we must hope and pray that the Benedict Bounce will last.

The Papal Visit was so full of memorable experiences, too many to single out. I think what we do to live our Catholic life in the spirit of the Pope’s words and actions is crucial. Archbishop Vincent Nichols wrote a pastoral letter last weekend that will help me and maybe others.

http://www.rcdow.org.uk/diocese/default.asp?content_ref=3031

I am ambivalent about the Pope, so I didn’t have any particular enthusiasm for his visit beforehand. However, having seen him on the television, where his goodness and kindness and goodwill were so obvious, I decided to go and see him as he drove up The Mall en route to Hyde Park on the Saturday afternoon. I’m glad I went: it seemed important to be there as a Catholic to acknowledge my membership of the world-wide Church. My ambivalence hasn’t disappeared. I continue to be confused and saddened by the Pope’s apparent retreat from Vatican II but I now feel more warmly towards him.

Wow! What an emotional few days the Pope's visit proved to be.
A big thank you to everyone at Sacred Heart who contributed their time in making sure as many parishoners as possible were able to watch coverage of the visit, lead Groups of pilgrims to the Vigil or the Beatification - and of course for the wonderful idea of waiting & watching for him outside the Papal Nunciature.

We opted not to attend the Vigil but reading the reports during the day and watching the coverage on Saturday was very moving and I was disappointed not to have just gone for it. None-the-less on Sunday morning we rose early, wrapped up warmly and headed over to the Nunciature. We couldn't believe how many people were there, nor the media set-up. Hoisting Joshua onto my shoulders we waited patiently for His Holiness to appear.

There were people & banners there from the Vigil the night before and the crowd kept growing. Finally a member of his entourage came out and started selecting a of the few parents with children to cross the security cordon and enter the gates of the residence and I thought 'this is it'. We caught his attention, he waved us over, calling us to join the other - couldn't believe it!

20 minutes later or so, His Holiness appeared and walked over to the parents & children standing just inside the gate. Joshua & I 'met' him, he Blessed Joshua, it was brief, but it was truly wonderful and I was filled with such a sense of peach & calm. He walked out of the drive & into the road to the roar of the excited crowd!

Too soon he was in the car and off to the airfield for his flight to Birmingham.
By the time we got home after the 0850 Mass, he was already beginning to celebrate Mass in Cofton Park.

I hope the experience is something Joshua recalls as he grows up, I certainly wont forget it and keep looking out for footage on the BBC...

It is amazing just how much he did over those 4 days - truly inspiring. May we give as much each day.

 

 

Could we have a Mass of thanksgiving for the great success of the Popes visit please? So much negative comment and sneering in the Press before the visit - and then the world saw what a delightful faith catholicism is- please can we offer a Mass in thanksgiving.Thank you.

What a wonderful few days.  We were lucky enough to be at Hyde Park and found the whole experience very uplifting.  My daughters were with me and I know that they too gained so much from the day.

Such a positive day in the face of so much negativity.

Thanks especially to Anna for being such a great leader.

 

 

Oh why, oh why did I volunteer to go to Cofton Park?  

1.00 am departure from Edge Hill; coach journey to Birmingham via Wallington!  We, (parishioners young and old; walking sticks and push chairs, folding chairs, flasks, sandwiches and babies bottles) arrived at about 5.30 in the dark and drizzle. Hundreds of coaches carefully scheduled to arrive in controlled succession; thousands of pilgrims quietly walking to the park; it was all beginning to gel. The atmosphere of goodwill was all around. Once in the park there were already thousands of people and thanks to the reconnaissance by Father Dushan we had a good view of the wonderful staging with a beautifully designed sanctuary and altar. The choir was rehearsing in the rain, glistening in their plastic macs as dawn broke. Time was progressing and the large screens showed His Holiness departing from Wimbledon Park. The rain stopped and we then heard the throb of an approaching helicopter; the enthusiasm and excitement built up and eventually the Popemobile entered the park - flags were waving, pilgrims cheering - it was heart-rending to be involved in such a feeling of warmth and affection.

The Mass for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman was a deeply spiritual experience for all who were there - we were all very much part of it. The unveiling of his portrait to the side of the altar as the beatification was announced created an intake of breath across the whole arena. Despite the numbers, we were all as one in the celebration of the Mass and in no time we seemed to be lining up to receive Holy Communion from hundreds of  deacons with their marshals holding yellow and white umbrellas.

As Mass ended and the Pope departed, the cheering and flag waving expressed a total outpouring of devotion and gratitude to His Holiness for his kindly and inspirational visit to our country.

The fact that we would have to wait another three hours for our coach to leave no longer seemed to matter; we picnicked, reminisced, absorbed the atmosphere and commented on the brilliant organisation which had caused all this to happen.

Oh why, oh why? Oh yes, oh yes, I thank God I was there!

 

I was in the very lucky position of being able to work on the Papal Visit.  Although I usually work for BBC Sport I have former colleagues in Events and offered to help out in VT on the day.

It was eerie arriving at Westminster to find all the roads closed and the streets at this point deserted.  We got our Papal accreditation, which has now joined my Olympic ones on the bannisters at home, and headed to our studio on top of the Methodist Hall whilst the security sweep of Westminster Abbey was in progress. 

We finally got the all clear to head into the Abbey to the OB trucks.  After the technical checks and rehearsals we followed the Pope's progress across the river on our monitors.  As he came alongside the Houses of Parliment to head into Westminster Hall were able to take a break and pop out to see His Holiness arrive.  Parked at the back of the Abbey and with security tight we had the perfect view.  It was then back into the trucks and a live broadcast of the service before heading home to Wimbledon. 

It's not often you can say a day at the office leaves you uplifted but I was delighted to have played a small part in it.

For me, the pope's visit will remain as a very special memory.

I was priveleged to be invited to the state reception for the Holy Father in Edinburgh - this already seemed a very great honour, but when I arrived at Holyrood House, I noticed that while a majority of the guests had blue tickets, I had a red one. I assumed that this would mean that I was consigned to the outer limits of the crowd, but no! I was amongst the very priveleged few who were to be introduced to the Holy Father. I was with a small group of leaders from various charities (I work as the UK Director of VSO) - and was actually asked to introduce both the pope and the queen to the other members of the group. This was wholly unexpected and really felt like an incredible honour for me. Being with the pope for just a few minutes was quite enough to be very moved by his incredible personal warmth and serenity. And I was interested that all the others in my small group had the same experience, even though, I think, I was the only catholic in the group. (I have photos from this very intimate moment if anyone would like to see them - the advantage of having a son working in the media business!)

The following day, I was also invited to Westminster Hall for the Holy Father's address to British Society. Many of us will have seen or read the text of that address - certainly at the time, it seemed a really pertinent challenge to society's "aggressive secularism" and was delivered with the kind of care and respect for those of different faiths, or none, that made it more difficult to ignore. And again, I was sitting with an old friend who describes himself as an atheist and met another who is a prominent member of the Presbyterian community in Belfast - both commented on how moving they had found the occassion.

Finally, that evening, as if this had not been enough, my wife and I passed the pope in traffic on his way from Westminster Abbey to Wimbledon. And to think that, before the visit, this chance sighting would have seemed very exciting in itself!

When I was 11 years of age I stood outside the Papal residence along Wimbledon park side with my parents waiting for a glimpse of Pope John Paul, some 28 years later I found myself standing outside again with my own 11 year old son waiting for a glimpse of Pope Benedict, what a wonderful experience it was.The pope appeared at the window much to the delight of the crowds that had gathered outside.It was a most memorable day and we wouldn't have missed it for the world.

 Collect pass and go… it can’t be that simple surely. The media attention before Pope Benedict arrived had created a kind of security frenzy so, fearing some airport style security, I did as asked and took only the banner and some money to purchase food once in the enclosure.

After a couple of conversations with marshals, I was through the gates and in. A massive field – mostly empty of people. I made my way over to the registration tent – and in the time it had taken me to collect my pass and a bottle of water the enclosure was over half full!

Blessed by the weather, I was thoroughly enjoying my own company and the atmosphere. Just me and my banner. It didn’t last long though and soon other banner bearers were beginning to arrive. We greeted each other and talked as though we had been long lost friends. Something struck me – the power and unity of our faith, here we were all gathered in faith and the two most powerful things connecting us were our humanity and our Catholicism.
Entertained and informed as we waited, we were led through numerous examples of the work of the Church around the world, in schools, hospitals, speaking up for those in need.
We listened to testimonies from people whose lived had been touched with tragedy, the loss of a loved one, addiction to drugs, seeking asylum.

We even had the pleasure of listening to the singing priests!

The banner procession progressed through the crowds which had now gathered and it was wonderful to be greeted by so many parishioners – recognising the banner (not me!) as I moved towards the stage to be greeted by the bishops.

We were then escorted to our seats. I was struck with guilt knowing I had one of the best seats in the house. There was still a festival atmosphere and you could really feel the excitement as the Pope moved through the streets of London closer to Hyde Park.

The jubilation as the Popemobile entered the enclosure was amazing. How could this man be so animated after such a long day? But soon the atmosphere switched from celebration to a very profound reverence as we first listened to the prayers and pastoral greeting then watched the lighting of the candle and then as we prayed during benediction.