St. John Paul II's historic visit to Baltimore 25 years ago put spotlight on Premier See

Pope John Paul II prays during the Oct. 8, 1995 Mass at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. (CR file)

The visit of St. John Paul II to Baltimore 25 years ago marked a watershed moment in the history of the first diocese in the United States.

In what was the first and (so far) only visit of a pope to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the attention of the world was focused on the Premier See as the spiritual leader of a 1-billion-member church invited its American members to live the Gospel more fully.

A willingness to let the Lord transform lives should produce “a renewed spiritual and missionary vitality,” the then-75-year-old Polish pontiff told tens of thousands of people packed into Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a Mass Oct. 8, 1995.

“It is important for America that the moral truths which make freedom possible should be passed on to each new generation,” St. John Paul II said in his homily. “Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

Pope John Paul II embraces Melissa Brent and Justin Farinelli upon his 1995 arrival in Baltimore. (CNS file photo/Michael Okoniewski)

During his 10-hour visit, the pope enjoyed a parade in his white popemobile from Oriole Park to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where he prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The Catholic Review reported that more than 300,000 people lined the parade route.

St. John Paul II also ate lunch at Our Daily Bread with 17 people who had benefited from Catholic Charities programs. He led a prayer service at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen before visiting 300 seminarians and faculty members at St. Mary’s Seminary.

Years after the historic visit, many who encountered the pope that day said their lives were forever changed.

Melissa Brent, then a 7-year-old student at St. William of York School, was one of two students hugged by the pope after they gave him a welcoming gift of black-eyed Susans at what is now BWI International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The moment was immortalized in a 7-foot, 850-pound bronze statue now standing in the Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden in downtown Baltimore.

Brent told the Review after the dedication of the statue that she felt a sense of warmth, comfort and calm when the pope embraced her. After his death in 2005, she prayed for his intercession whenever she had a difficult decision to make.

Jim and Pat McDonnell spent less than a minute in the presence of Pope John Paul II, but it was enough to change their lives.

The longtime parishioners of Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus had recently lost their son, Ryan, when he was struck and killed by two cars while riding his bicycle.

Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler (left) joins Pope John Paul II in celebrating Mass in Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore Oct. 8, 1995. About 60,000 people attended the service at the baseball park during the pope’s 1995 pastoral visit to America. (*CNS file photo by Karen Callaway*)

Selected to offer the sign of peace to the pope during his Mass at Oriole Park, the McDonnells accompanied their two other children, 14-year-old Sean and 8-year-old Brigid, in approaching the pontiff.

The pope kissed Brigid on the head and embraced her brother, mother and father. He extended heartfelt condolences to Jim McDonnell for the death of his son.

“When I touched him and looked into his eyes, it was just like looking into the eyes of Jesus,” Pat McDonnell told the Catholic Review several years after the pope’s death. “After having that experience with him, I felt like our family could get through anything.”

Chuck and Karen Spivey served as gift bearers with their four children at the stadium Mass. Among Karen Spivey’s most treasured belongings is the rosary the pope gave her that day.

“I watched this man who represents Jesus Christ on Earth kiss and bless each of my children,” the parishioner of St. Joseph, Sykesville, remembered on the occasion of the pope’s death. “Our 2-year-old was acting like a 2-year-old, clamoring to be put down. I remembered that as the pope kissed him, there was this collective ‘ahhhh.’ I had totally forgotten there were 60,000 other people there.”

Pope John Paul II kisses then 8-year-old Brigid McDonnell on the forehead during the sign of peace during an Oct. 8, 1995 Mass at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (CR file)

As St. John Paul II greeted people during his visit to Our Daily Bread, Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Gwynette Proctor (then-director of the outreach center) was struck that he seemed totally present to each person.

“Pope John Paul II insisted his visit not interrupt the meal that was to be served that day,” Sister Gwynette said later. “He insisted whatever our guests ate, that’s what he would eat.”

A day after the papal visit, Cardinal William H. Keeler called the event “a new central point in defining the archdiocese.”

“The successor of St. Peter came to Baltimore,” Cardinal Keeler said, “and challenged us to do our best.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see:

Our Back Pages: Catholic Review counts popes in its readership

Archbishop O’Brien dedicates Pope John Paul II prayer garden