Florida Catholic | Editorial

German from Rome makes pilgrimage to America

Published: 04.11.08

This visit is a pilgrimage to us all, and we can all participate — in prayer, most of all — and by listening to the messages Benedict brings.”

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States next week marks a major milestone. When he was elected to the papacy, this pope said he would not travel as widely or as frequently as his predecessor. Partly this was an acknowledgement of the new pope’s age, 78 at the time of his election. Part of it was an acknowledgement of the difference in the popes’ styles: John Paul II had training and experience as an actor; he loved using the world as a stage and taking advantage of the outlets the emerging media provided his papacy to teach and spread the Gospel. Benedict XVI is at his heart an academician and theologian; he uses his homilies, talks and pastoral travels more as a professor and teacher.

Despite the contention this pope would not travel much, next week’s trip will be Benedict’s eighth outside of Italy since his election to the papacy three years ago. He is scheduled to attend World Youth Day in Australia in July and there are unconfirmed plans for a trip to France this September. For a man who will turn 81 during his trip to the U.S. capital, he keeps a busy schedule. Someone once asked John Paul II if he traveled too much, and he replied, “Sometimes it is necessary to do that which is too much.” Perhaps Pope Benedict has realized that it is necessary for him to be among his flock, and to reach out to those of other faiths whom he will encounter on his travels.

This pope has already penned books and encyclicals since his election and is working on another encyclical. He speaks articulately and with great passion. From where does he get his energy? From what wellspring does he draw the strength to make these pilgrimages? He calls upon the Holy Spirit, and he asks us to assist him as well.

In the homily at his installation Mass, he said: “And now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it? All of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of saints, represented by some of the great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I, too, can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me.”

Benedict has been shaped in many ways over the years. As a boy in school (essentially a boarding school in town) Joseph Ratzinger lived away from home, his parents having made a sacrifice so that he could get the best education possible. He joined the Nazi Youth, not by choice, but because all young men were required. He was a prisoner of war during World War II. And as a priest, he was a star theologian attending the Second Vatican Council, eventually asked to run the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. And now, this pilgrim comes to share his message with us.

He will visit only two places, but they are representative of all the United States. Washington, D.C., as our capital, is the center of our government and the crossroads of many national organizations. There, he will meet with President Bush, the U.S. bishops, with leaders of Catholic education and with interfaith leaders. New York City is one of those unusual cities in the country — and in the world, that is a cosmopolitan mix of so much diversity. It’s also where the pope will address the United Nations.

This visit is a pilgrimage to us all, and we can all participate — in prayer, most of all — and by listening to the messages Benedict brings.

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German from Rome makes pilgrimage to America

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