North Shore witnesses to pope’s service

Angela Cave

“I never win anything,” Ana Maria Georgeou said she thought when she entered a lottery at her church in Williston Park to attend Pope Francis’ Mass at Madison Square Garden last week. 

Yet she and her husband, Michael, parishioners of St. Aidan’s Catholic Church, found themselves among the throngs of devotees lucky enough to see and celebrate with the charismatic religious leader in the famous arena as part of the pontiff’s whirlwind first trip to America.  

“It blew me away,” said Georgeou, a native of Argentina, Pope Francis’ home. “It was like Madison Square Garden was coming down. People were yelling and screaming. That’s what God wants: for people of all races and religions to come together as one.” 

The papal Mass attracted 20,000 worshipers; his procession through Central Park the same day turned out 80,000 admirers. 

North Shore residents were among both crowds, witnessing history and becoming objects of envy among their social circles this week. 

Georgeou recalled waiting three and a half hours to get through security and into the Garden on Friday. She had knee surgery a week prior. 

“At one point, I couldn’t take it any longer,” she said. Her husband kept her spot in line while she sat in front of a barber shop. The owner came out and pressed her about why the pope was worth her time and agony. “He just looked at me like I was talking a different language. 

“When you are going to encounter something extraordinary,” Georgeou added, “there is some sort of labor, some sort of penance. I knew I would never come home the same way I left the house.” 

She said being at the Mass and hearing the pope speak about spreading God’s light in American cities has given her a mission: 

“I would like to go and do something for the poor because I have such a love for them,” Georgeou said. “When you see the poor every day, they become part of the wallpaper. I feel like I have an electrical shock. Sometimes we have to put our fingers in the electricity to make sure we’re alive. He did something in my life.” 

She said she felt struck by “the people’s response” to the pope. 

“He’s such a pure vessel,” she said. “I love him. He’s so old and so sweet and so gentle, but the spirit is so strong.” 

Joanne Wachowicz of St. Mary’s Church in Manhasset found out the day before that she’d be attending the Mass — thanks to her seminarian son, who got his hands on a second ticket.  

“I was thrilled!” she said. “I had been praying and hoping for one.” 

Wachowicz took the Long Island Rail Road around 1 p.m. — and saw at least three other Manhasset residents riding in — and then flew through security, finding her seat at the Garden before 3 p.m. 

She enjoyed a “terrific” pre-Mass program packed with music and worship and performances or appearances by Stephen Colbert, Gloria Estefan, Martin Sheen, Jennifer Hudson, Harry Connick Jr., and others. 

The pope’s arrival surprised Wachowicz and others in the congregation. 

“We didn’t think he was coming that early and nobody had really warned us,” she said. “All of a sudden, I hear this roar — like coming from one of the tunnels. I looked down, and there he was. I got little chills. It was really quite lovely to see the vicar of Christ in person.” 

The tone grew more solemn after Pope Francis vested for the liturgy. 

Wachowicz said she followed a prayer and hymn booklet for the parts that weren’t in English and read a somewhat second-rate translation on the big screen for the homily, which the pope delivered in Spanish. 

“I got the gist of it,” she said. “In the city, we can be the light of Christ, even if there’s smog in the city and darkness in the city. It’s nice to be reminded of that.

“There were so many people [at the Mass] from so many different backgrounds,” she added. “It showed the universality of the church. My biggest emotion was probably gratefulness.” 

About 40 people from St. Mary’s — mostly teenagers from the youth group and adult volunteers associated with it — got tickets to see the pope pass through Central Park earlier in the day. 

Mary Kulhanek, a youth group core team member, and her husband ended up separated from the group on a hill about 100 feet back from the barricades. After waiting in the park for three hours, people around them started standing in anticipation of his arrival. 

“It maintained that level of excitement for like 45 minutes,” Kulhanek said, adding that a group of women next to her taught neighbors a prayer and worship song in French. “It was a very positive atmosphere. I was so happy. I just feel so blessed to have been able to see him.” 

JoJo Conlan, a seventh-grade catechist at St. Mary’s, received four tickets to Central Park from the parish’s youth minister after Mass the Sunday before. 

“I was like, ‘What? Oh my goodness!’” Her 12-year-old son, Blaze, had just finished begrudgingly altar serving: “I was telling him sometimes you have to altar serve even when you’re not scheduled, and God will [bless] you.” 

Conlan took Blaze, a 12-year-old across-the-street neighbor and her mother on the trip, which entailed a three-hour wait to get into the park and another three hours camped out before the pope drove by for two minutes. 

“It was such an incredible day,” she said. “The orderliness of New York City was incredible. You never felt safer in your life. I’ve never seen more cordialness with New Yorkers. Once you got your spot, you were surrounded by the same 15 people. You thought, ‘Am I really in Central Park?’” 

“People lay on the cobblestone taking naps. A group of women next to them sang ‘Amazing Grace’ in Spanish. The boys played cards, ran around and gaped at the security precautions. Ten minutes before the pope’s arrival, “we felt an energy,” Conlan said. “A little boy yelled, ‘Look up! Look up!’ There was this beautiful rainbow across the sky. I’ve never been part of something where the adrenaline and the enthusiasm was just a natural high.”

When Pope Francis passed, “everybody started crying,” she continued. “It really at that moment felt like a higher being. It made me feel grateful to be part of this incredible, inspirational community. It made me see the magnitude of so many different people and cultures who all have the [same] beliefs. It was really a radiant feeling and I’m so grateful during my time here on earth that I had that opportunity.” 

The feeling continued on the subway back to Penn Station. 

Blaze and his friend, Michael Desena, both Manhasset Middle School students, missed school and risked missing the seventh-grade dance for the occasion.

They didn’t seem fazed by the long wait at the park, saying they made friends with strangers and played “spot the sniper” after they asked police officers about all the heightened security measures. 

They said they were amazed by the humanity around them. 

“We didn’t see any people selling anything,” Blaze said. “There was no crime in the city that day. It was amazing to see so many people not fighting. So many people respect [the pope] so much.”

“People from all over were helping out,” Michael chimed in. 

The boys found themselves very close to the man of the hour. 

“He blessed the kid next to us,” Blaze said. “Me and Michael were right up against the fence and taking photos and waving. It was, like, crazy. We didn’t know what to expect. He looked at us.” 

In retrospect, it seemed like a too-quick experience, but “in the moment, it was so long,” Blaze mused. “All of the stories [about Pope Francis], like, came to a face. It was a great experience because we learned so much about what we believe in and learned that it’s not just about him.  I never even knew there were so many Catholic people in New York State.”

At school on Monday, “all of our friends were like, ‘How was the pope?” Blaze said. “It was amazing to [tell them]. We showed them the pictures we took and they were fascinated. We know this is something you will remember the rest of your life.” 

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