Winners 'thrilled' to be chosen to attend papal Mass in April

Surprise and delight resounded in the voice of 19-year-old Kathleen Dillon when she learned earlier this week that she will be going to Yankee Stadium in April to attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

She was chosen when Bishop Howard J. Hubbard pulled her name in a random drawing for tickets to the liturgy.

Miss Dillon, a student at New York University and a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church in Troy, said she is "excited. It is such an historical and rare event, and I want to be part of it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience I didn't want to miss. I think it's going to be a life-changing experience."

Drawing

Although he has been in the U.S. previously as a cardinal, the April visit will be Pope Benedict's first as pontiff. Among his stops will be Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for an April 20 Mass attended by tens of thousands of people.

Through the generosity of the Archdiocese of New York, the pope's host during the New York City part of his American tour, several hundred tickets to the Mass have been given to the Albany Diocese. Bishop Hubbard asked The Evangelist to distribute the tickets, as it has for previous papal events.

To give everyone interested in attending an equal chance, The Evangelist invited readers to send in a coupon that appeared in the Jan. 3 issue. More than 3,200 ticket requests were received.

'Great experience'

At the other end of the age-spectrum from Miss Dillon is 85-year-old Stephanie Hinds, a member of St. Pius X parish in Loudonville.

She will be going to the Mass with her husband, John.

"I've never come close to seeing a pope," Mrs. Hinds told The Evangelist when informed of her good fortune. "I expect something very spiritual and a great experience."

'Thrilled'

Herman and Susan Reinhold, members of St. Patrick's Church in Athens, will be seeing their second pope.

"We saw John Paul II in Rome," Mrs. Reinhold said. "I'm thrilled" to repeat the experience. "It's very exciting. Every Mass is a spiritual experience, but there's something special about the pope being there."

Added her husband, "We try to be as active as we can in the Church. We volunteer; we're involved with fundraisers; I'm a lector; my wife is a Sunday school teacher. This Mass is another part of that. I've heard how spiritual it is to be at a Mass with a pope: the joy, love, energy and electricity."

Opportunity

When Louise Durante, who is a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady, was informed that she and her husband, Anthony, will receive tickets, she exclaimed, "That's wonderful news! We jumped at the opportunity to be in the presence of the pope. The Mass is also a way to strengthen our faith. It will bring us a closer connection to God."

Three years ago, the Durantes were in Rome but did not get to a papal audience.

On the last day of their stay, she reported, "we met another American who had tickets to see the pope, and we thought, 'How wonderful. It's too bad we don't have the same opportunity.'"

Now they do.

(If you entered The Evangelist's drawing for tickets to see the pope, please do not call to learn if you have been chosen. The winners will be notified by mail in the next two weeks.)

(01/24/08)