Oklahoma Catholics Pray for Pope
Pope John Paul II Dies: Local Catholic Reaction

By Eileen Dugan
The Sooner Catholic

With the April 2 announcement from Rome that the pope had died, reactions poured in from around the archdiocese. Parishes draped themselves in black and scheduled extra Masses, rosaries, and novenas for the repose of the soul of John Paul II.

Many people like Michaele Sorise prayed for the pope at the Saturday evening Mass at Epiphany Parish, Oklahoma City.  Then Bishop Beltran of Tulsa and Archbishop Salatka of Oklahoma City with the A large picture of the pontiff,             Pope on a visit to the Vatican.
surrounded by lighted vigil candles, was placed in the foyer. A kneeler rested in front of the display. Alveria Kopp, also from Epiphany, said, “It was amazing how many people came to kneel and pray.”

Across town at Little Flower Parish, secretary, Nonna Mancinas, said the special intentions at all the Masses on Friday were for the pope. “We were all praying for him before he died,” Sister Esther Alonso said. “We put up a picture of him in the church, and everyone came and kneeled down and said some prayers. At the 3 p.m. Spanish Mass Sunday, the choir sang “Amigo”, the pope’s favorite song when he came to Mexico.” Monday morning, a picture of the Little Flower altar display was featured on CNN.com, the Cable News Network’s website.

“John Paul II brought peace and justice to the world,” said Father Dom-inic Hung Hoan from Saint Andrew Dung-Lac Church. “He was a special pope of the people. We lost a great person and are very saddened; however, we put everything in God’s hands.”

Jane Ritchie, secretary at St. Joseph Church, Ada, said the parish played a tape of the pope leading the rosary at the rosary Sunday night, and at the 6 p.m. Mass, he was mentioned in the prayers of the faithful. “For most parishioners it is a sad day,” she said.

Father Kevin Ratterman of St. Frances Xavier Church, Enid, noticed that more people than usual were dropping into the church to spend time in prayer. Attendance at Mass was up, also. “I took a group of 49 to Rome in December,” he said. “It was nice to relax and spend time in St. Peter’s and take in the magnificence of it all. Sadly, the pope’s audience that day was cancelled. But we did see him on Sunday evening when he came to his window to greet pilgrims. I had seen the pope on several different occasions when he was younger, and, again, last December. Regardless of how infirm he was, even wheeled in a wheelchair, he still had an incredible presence.”

On the day after the pope’s death. Fanny Everett from Corpus Christi Church in Oklahoma City met with the young people of her parish. She shared with them that in 1987 she had been there when the National Black Catholic Congress presented their pastoral plan to the pontiff in New Orleans. She told them that this pope has had a tremendous effect on black Catholics in the United States.

“At the time the Black Catholic Congress was convened in Wash-      ington,” she said, “it was the first black congress convened after 100 years of black Catholicism in the U.S. The people met in Washington and came up with a plan. At the time, blacks had only one ordinary and nine auxiliary bishops in the United States.” Everett explained that the pope had come to New Orleans on one of his first youth days. He met with the black Catholic delegation led by the 10 black bishops. It was a most important meeting because shortly thereafter most of these 10 black bishops were elevated. “The ones that are still alive are now in positions of significance such as Archbishop Terry Steib of Memphis and Bishop Wilton Gregory, former head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,” she said. “Young people need to know that Pope John Paul II exhorted black Catholics to stand up for inclusion in this Church. His appointment of black bishops helped this come about. He really gave us a reason to want to stay in this Church. We knew he was listening,” Everett said.

At Holy Name of Jesus Church, Chickasha, some ladies were already praying the rosary when Father Elmer Schwarz arrived at the church, Sat-urday morning. “They had gotten together by themselves,” he said. “During the Saturday and Sunday Masses, we prayed for John Paul II during the general intercessions and celebrated these Masses for the repose of his soul. Many people here in Chickasha were watching the news channels and looking at  the pope’s fantastic life,” Schwarz said. “They were proud to be Catholic.”

Father said that when he was in Rome in fall 2003, he was in Saint Peter’s Square during one of the pope’s outdoor audiences and saw the pope in his pope mobile drive by. “There was also a contingent from Holy Name in Denver for World Youth Day,” he said. “I knew the pope had a sense of humor when the youth started shouting, ‘John Paul II, we love you,’ and he answered, ‘John Paul II, he loves you!’”

At Saint Andrew’s Church in Moore, Margaret Hochla, their Adult Formation Director said. “The response here to his death has been one of sadness because he was so loved.” Hochla pointed out that in a week filled with news of Euthanasia and the Culture of Death, Pope John Paul II had a feeding tube inserted, to try to further his life. He “has been a very powerful voice for the Culture of Life,” she said. “He expressed this not only in his writing but also in the way he lived.”

Lani Smith has been filling in for the secretary at Saint Eugene, Weath-erford. “We had a special Mass Friday evening for the pope,” she said. “We were all praying for him, and people continue coming to the church to pray. At the Saturday night Mass, the sign in front of the church and the altar were draped in black. People have been glued to their televisions and praying.”

 In Lawton at Blessed Sacrament Church, the Friday Adoration was dedicated to John Paul. “We knew his health was bad. The Saturday morning Mass was also for him,” Father James Stafford said. “At the regular Sunday Masses we talked about him and prayed for him. There were a few more than usual at the Masses.

“I’d seen him in 1990 in Rome at the New Year’s Mass. He had a cold and was suffering along. I came home depressed, thinking that he would not long be with us.” Remarkably, John Paul recovered and led the Church for another 15 years, Stafford said. “He fought the good fight.”

In response to the pope’s death. Saint Peter’s Church in Guymon put up black bunting at the entrance of the church and moved the pope’s picture from the foyer to an easel in the sacristy. A candle displaying the pope’s coat-of-arms burned nearby.

“On Sunday we had “Day One” of a Novena of Prayer for John Paul,” Father Stephen Hamilton said. “At Mass each day of the novena, the intentions will be for the repose of his soul.  I was interviewed by the local paper which ran a front-page story on the pope. People are very respectful, even non-Catholics. He was an incredible public figure. I spent five years in Rome and met the pontiff on several occasions. Twice I assisted at Mass in his private chapel. His morning Mass was at 6:30 a.m. Before that, he would have already been in prayer for several hours. When I was in the room with him, there was an almost tangible sense of deep love that flowed from him. He was a very holy man and a gift to the Church and to the world,” Hamilton said.