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Look Back: Pope John Paul II visits St. Louis
Date: 1/15/2011 Album ID: 931078
Photos by Post-Dispatch staff photographers
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On Friday, Pope Benedict XVI set May 1 as the date for John Paul's beatification. On Jan 26, 1999, Pope John Paul II arrived in St. Louis for a whirlwind 31-hour visit. The 78-year-old Polish pontiff managed to take part in a frenetic youth rally in the Savvis (Scottrade) Center, celebrate Mass with 104,000 people in the dome and adjoining halls, took part in an ecumenical service at the New Cathedral and persuade a governor to spare a condemned man.
Pope John Paul II greets a crowd of 2,300 of civic leaders and Catholics in the Missouri Air National Guard hangar at Lambert St. Louis International Airport shortly after his flight from Mexico City landed at 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999. The Pope visited St. Louis for a whirlwind 31 hours before heading home to Vatican City on the same TWA jet, dubbed Shepherd One. With him is President Bill Clinton and St. Louis Archbishop Justin Rigali, who now is Cardinal Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia. (J.B. Forbes/Post-Dispatch)
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The Pope heads east on Lindell Boulevard across from Forest Park in his special popemobile during the trip from Lambert Field to the archbishop's residence near the New Cathedral, or the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. Crowds along the orange-plastic curbside fences were respectable in many places, large in others, but many in St. Louis were embarrassed that there wasn't a bigger turnout along the motorcade routes. Police agencies and news organizations, including this newspaper, had been warning of gridlock in the city. Many people just watched TV at home. (Odell Mitchell Jr./Post-Dispatch)
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Mercy Bushman, of Incarnate Word parish in Chesterfield, waits for the papal motorcade on January 26 in the Central West End. (Jerry Naunheim Jr./Post-Dispatch)
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Pope John Paul II in the popemobile heads west on Market Street near City Hall en route to Kiel Center for the youth rally on the evening of Jan. 26. The motorcade headed into downtown from the cathedral on Olive Street, then south on Tucker Boulevard to Market. Inside Kiel were almost 21,000 exuberant young people, who had been rallying since they marched that morning with banners from the Old Cathedral on the riverfront. (Larry Williams/Post-Dispatch)
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The 78-year-old Pope blesses Cory Barnett, of St. Teresa of Avila parish in north St. Louis, during the youth rally at Kiel. (St. Teresa was merged in 2003 to become Saints Teresa and Bridget.) Seated is Wendy Wildberger of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Washington, Mo. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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Adults in the crowd at Kiel applaud the Pope. (Karen Elshout/Post-Dispatch)
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Smiling nuns at the youth rally. (Karen Elshout/Post-Dispatch)
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Pope John Paul II leaves the stage at the youth rally. He was about to delight the crowd by using his cane to imitate a hockey slap shot. He had been given a Blues sweater with his name on the back, and he told the crowd, So, I'm prepared to return once more to play hockey. Behind him at left Archbishop Justin Rigali. (Karen Elshout/Post-Dispatch)
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A group hangs together as it walks toward the Trans World Dome (now the Edward Jones Dome) before dawn on Wednesday, Jan. 27, for a morning Mass to be celebrated by Pope John Paul II. About 104,000 people attended in the dome and an adjoining hall, making it the largest indoor Mass ever in the United States. Most of the congregation had assembled earlier that morning at charter-bus lots to head downtown. (Karen Elshout/Post-Dispatch)
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Upbeat priests wave to friends in the crowd as they march into the dome for the start of the Mass. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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Two worshipers in the dome warm up before Mass by singing with the choir. (Jerry Naunheim Jr./Post-Dispatch)
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The Pope arrives inside America's Center his special vehicle, headed for the dome and Mass. (J.B. Forbes/Post-Dispatch)
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Members of the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, a cloistered order popularly known as the Pink Sisters, cheer the Pope upon his arrival for Mass. They had been praying for good weather during his visit, and were lauded as local celebrities when the weather proved to be a blessing. The high on Jan. 27, the day of the Mass, was 68 degrees -- 30 degrees above normal for late January. (Jerry Naunheim Jr./Post-Dispatch)
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Worshipers fill the floor and seats of dome for Mass. The altar is on a platform in front of a 45-foot tall arch and beneath a 48-foot-high cross hanging from the ceiling rafters. (Jerry Naunheim/Post-Dispatch)
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A procession of the nation's bishops climb to the altar for the beginning of the Mass. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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A priest claps with the hymn during Mass in the dome. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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The Pope blesses a family during Mass. (Jerry Naunheim Jr./Post-Dispatch)
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Some of the Catholics who helped with the many communion lines prepare to move to their stations throughout the dome. They held up umbrellas so worshipers could easily find the many priests who distributed communion. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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The Pope blesses a girl during communion. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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Pope John Paul II leans in prayer upon his crozier, or shepherd's staff, during Mass. Sculptor Lello Scorzelli designed the staff, which symbolizes the Pope's role as shepherd to the world's Roman Catholics. (Andrew Cutraro/Post-Dispatch)
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