In the pews at noon Masses and around the bay area, Catholics focus their faith on Pope John Paul II.
By CURTIS KRUEGER, DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN and JOSH ZIMMER
Published April 2, 2005
[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
In prayer at Saint Mary Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, from left: Alicia Riggs and daughters Rachel, 11, and Kelsey, 14; Marina Lefkimiotis, 14, mother Eva and sister Zoe, 13.
Father Raymond Nedimyer listened to a television news show that declared Pope John Paul II had died, but he wasn't quite willing to say that during noon Mass Friday at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in St. Petersburg.
He pulled his punches, merely telling the 90 or so parishioners that the Holy Father's health had taken a turn for the worse. And knowing the pope's resilience to past illnesses, Nedimyer told them, "He's liable to jump up into the pulpit or something."
Shortly after Mass, bad news turned to good: Broadcasters admitted their report had been wrong, because the pope was still alive.
For Roman Catholics in the Tampa Bay area, that's how Friday went. The faithful streamed into churches to pray for the pope's health and for his soul, and then listened to news reports that described the 84-year-old pontiff as "clinging to life."
"Please make him better," said Adriana Schiereck, 10, at Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Tampa.
"He's in my prayers," said Lisa Vandeventer, a 56-year-old homemaker, who attended midmorning Mass at St. Paul Catholic Church in Carrollwood. "I don't want him to suffer and while I don't think he will be cured, I hope he will be well. I can just hope and pray."
All day, parishioners walked into churches, dipped their hands in holy water, made the sign of the cross and took their seats in pews. In services, priests prayed for the family of Terri Schiavo, for the ailing and for the dying. But the pope was high on everyone's minds.
About 100 people converged on the chapel of St. Lawrence Catholic Church, where they bowed and prayed for a pope they called "good" and "holy".
Janice Torgersen, 65, came after hearing about the special Mass on television.
Afterward, she praised John Paul for sticking to his conservative views on abortion and birth control. Others remembered his charisma, as well as the respect he showed for the young and old, rich and poor.
As a teenager, Betty Colegrove, 43, saw the pope in Washington, D.C., with her church youth group.
Although it was hard to see him because of the crowds, she felt the force of his personality.
"He just got down there with the kids ... loving the energy from them," said Colegrove, who came with her 12-year-old daughter, Lauren. "I'll always remember that."
Elkin Vargas recalled the Holy Father's visit to war-torn Colombia two decades ago. He watched in awe.
"I don't remember the words," said Vargas, 49. "For me, he's been a great pope. He's a pope of the people."
Earlier Friday, silence gripped the chapel at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Hudson. It was broken only by the sniffles of a woman whose cheeks were soaked by tears.
The woman, 38-year-old Christine Boylan, had rushed from home when she saw on television that the pope could die at any moment.
Kneeling before a pew, she wrapped among her fingers the white rosary beads of her childhood confirmation, and pressed them into her forehead.
She prayed he would not suffer.
"He was a man of morals, and he stood behind whatever he said," Boylan said. "I wish there was a lot more men like him."
Monsignor Laurence Higgins of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa agrees. The pope is "a man of great moral principal, of great prayer, of good thought. He wanted everyone in the world to work together."
Higgins, who met the pope four or five times, noted that his 26-year papacy has been one of the longest ever.
"I don't think he can ever be beaten," Higgins said. "He should become known as John Paul the Great."
At a Polish deli in New Port Richey, owner Elizabeth Babkowski was distraught when a religious radio station prematurely announced the pope's death Friday afternoon.
"It's hard to believe. The Holy Father! It's hard to imagine," Babkowski said before she turned, clasped her hands and raised watery eyes to the image of the pontiff hanging behind the cash register.
Then her husband called. Relatives from Poland had relayed the latest news from Europe. The pontiff was on his deathbed, but still lived. Hope shined from Babkowski's eyes.
"Holy God, what's true?" Babkowski cried aloud. "Won't CNN say anything? It's a circus!"
Times staff writers Jackie Ripley, James Thorner and Steve Thompson contributed to this report.
