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Oklahoma Catholics Visit Rome at Historic Time By Eileen Dugan Several people from the archdiocese were at the Vatican this April just after the funeral of John Paul II. Others were there for the Conclave. Jeff Finnell of Saint Monica's Parish, Edmond, believes his family's "whole trip was directed by God". Last January, his wife Kathy had an overwhelming feeling that they should go to Rome. They had moved to Edmond from Wichita last summer and still had not sold their house. "There was no way Rome was an option with two mortgage payments," Finnell said. Then, Jeff and his family attended a talk by Scott Hahn. Hahn, the head of theology at Steubenville University, a Franciscan university in Ohio, spoke in Yukon in February. The Finnells found out that Hahn was organizing a weeklong trip to Rome at the end of June. "We got excited about how neat it would be to go to Rome with him," Finnell said. "My daughter Lorrin made the comment, 'It would be great, but it's not like our home in Wichita is going to sell tomorrow'. That night we got a call from our realtor; we had a contract on our house." The Finnells sold the house, but the June timing of Hahn's tour did not work with Finnell's vacation schedule. A mid-April trip was set up, instead. The whole family was going: he and his wife Kathy; his three children, Lorrin, 18, Garrett, 14, and Karalyn, 12; Kathy's parents, Richard and Kay Grosso; and Kathy's brother, Rick Grosso. The Finnell and Grosso families arrived in Rome on April 12, just after the official days of mourning for John Paul II. They visited John Paul's tomb in the crypt under Saint Peter's Basilica on the first day it was open to the public. "As you go down and walk through all the tombs of the many popes, you get a real sense of history," Finnell said. "Some of the tombs are very ornate, with large sculptures of the popes on the top. Pope John Paul's tomb is simple: a plain, gray slab of marble." After several days of sightseeing in Assisi, and Florence, the Finnells were scheduled to go on to Venice. Instead, they returned to Rome for the Conclave. They arrived back in Saint Peter's Square on April 18, in time for the first conclave vote. "When the smoke came out, it was tough to see what color it was because it was dusk. It looked white, and the crowd went crazy! The idea we had a pope on the first vote lasted about a minute. Then, the smoke changed to black," Finnell said. They returned on Tuesday morning, April 19 for two more votes and more black smoke. Their van driver was supposed to pick them up at 3:30 p.m. to drive them to Milan. There, they would visit Finnell's wife's cousins the next day. "We wanted to visit our relatives but were sick about leaving Rome before the pope was chosen. Particularly the children. So we went into Saint Peter's Basilica to pray for divine guidance. After praying, we decided to delay our departure until 8 p.m. so we could stay in Rome for one more vote," Finnell said. Returning to Saint Peter's Square at 6 p.m., they saw what appeared to be white smoke. "Everyone was very cautious, this time. No one was going to jump to conclusions. In about 10 minutes, the bells started ringing. We had a new pope!" Finnell said. The doors of the balcony finally opened, and a cardinal came out, announcing there was a new pope. "When he said, 'Cardinal Ratzinger', it was like Times Square on New Year's Eve when the ball comes down! Everyone was very excited and euphoric!" Finnell said. "Then, Cardinal Ratzinger came out and waved at the crowd. It was a once-in-a-lifetime situation. We were in the right place at the right time! We had tears in our eyes. It was very emotional." Judy Johnson and her friend, Nancy Altman, both of Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Kingfisher, were also in Rome, recently. They arrived in Rome on Tuesday morning, April 19, the second day of the Conclave. After rushing to Saint Peter's, they met up with their parish priest, Father Price Oswalt. He had been on retreat elsewhere in Italy, and they had arranged to meet him in Rome. Father Oswalt was sure the pope would be chosen that day, so Johnson and Altman left their seats to purchase some items the new pope could bless. They purchased two dozens rosaries and ran back to Saint Peter's when they heard the bells ringing. "We were a block from Saint Peter's. It was beautiful. Everyone was running out of the buildings and heading for Saint Peter's Square. We headed back, but couldn't get back to our chairs and Father Oswalt because they had put up a barrier. We waited 30-45 minutes and a cardinal came out on the balcony and said, 'Habemus Papam', 'We have a pope.'" Johnson said. For Johnson, it was the most exciting day of her life. "We were so thrilled. The pope came out and spoke and blessed everyone. He was radiant. It was beautiful." "On Sunday we went to his installation Mass. We got seats up close where we could see everything. We went to Communion. It was awesome to see all the nationalities, all sitting together: Germans, Poles, Italians, Chinese. Being in Rome at this time was very, very exciting," Johnson said. "I never imagined I'd be in Saint Peter's Square when they said, 'Habemus Papam' and I would see the pope on the balcony." Father William Novak of Saint John's Parish in Yukon and Father Robert Wood of Saint James Parish in Oklahoma City and 23 of their parishioners were on pilgrimage to Rome from Monday, April 11 to Saturday, April 16. Their visit had been planned for a year. "Because of the death of John Paul II, we were unable to visit the Sistine Chapel. We did get to attend one of the special Masses offered for John Paul in Saint Peter's during the nine days of mourning. There were many cardinals in attendance. We also visited John Paul's tomb. It was a very historic time. "We experienced the mourning for John Paul II but also a wonderful sense of excitement about who the new pope would be. It was a wonderful trip. To be there during this time was a very memorable experience," Father Novak said. |