The priest, who is studying for a doctorate at Catholic University, clutched red and white vestments on his lap as he sat on the shuttle. "I feel privileged and honored to co-celebrate with the Vicar of Christ here on Earth," he said.
Outside the stadium on Half Street, hundreds who did not have tickets for the Mass craned their necks to watch the events unfolding on a jumbo TV screen.
Tim and Janet Frederick of Plymouth, Mich., squinted in the sun, their seven young children sitting at their feet. Jose Torrico, 26, a Peruvian immigrant who lives in Gaithersburg, videotaped the broadcast.
Others wove through the crowd waving signs and shouting slogans decrying the Catholic Church for what they consider to be beliefs contrary to Jesus' teachings.
Ruben Israel, 45, a street preacher who flew in from Los Angeles, wore an "Ask me why you deserve hell" T-shirt and carried a sign warning that "music sinners," "apathetic pew warmers" and "rebellious women" would be judged by God.
Vendors peddled posters, T-shirts and mugs emblazoned with the pontiff's image. The voices of protesters and hawkers joined in a cacophony:
"Terrorist attacks predicted in the Book of Revelations!"
"Shirts! Five bucks!"
"Where are you going to spend eternity?"
Afterward, on the bus again, the youth from St. John's said they were energized by an experience so intense that it was hard to put their feelings into words. They passed around bags of candy and potato chips and then, bending their heads together, began to sing a hymn.
"So here I am to worship," they sang a little off-key. "Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God."
julie.scharper@baltsun.com matthew.brown@baltsun.com
