04.14.08 Papal Visit to Washington DC
One of our fellow CLW parishioners, Tim Holoman, recently traveled to Washington DC to chronicle the Pope's visit. He works for WPXI TV and has offered to share his pictures and story with all of us! Please continue reading to get a Pittsburgher's view of the event:
My dear friends in Christ,
My name is Tim Holoman and I have been a member of Christ the Light of the World Parish for nearly three years. I usually attend the 8:30 AM mass at St. Hedwig. I am a cancer survivor and Father Dennis as well as the whole parish community has helped me and my family through some difficult times.
Last Sunday after mass I told Father Dennis that I was going to see the Holy Father in Washington. He laughed and said he wanted Penguin playoff tickets too. I do not believe that Father Dennis knows what I do for a living. I am the special projects photographer for WPXI TV. Weekend Anchor Gordon Loesch and myself were assigned to cover the Papal Visit to our Nations Capitol. I did not have the heart to tell Father Dennis that I covered the Penguins last Friday. It would take divine intervention for playoff tickets to become available.
Tickets for any event in Washington was also impossible. The Pittsburgh Diocese only received 250 tickets. However, this was one of the largest groups to be there besides the Archdiocese of Washington.
Media credentials were also very hard to come by. We were only given passes to the mass. Covering the three days was going to be difficult but I felt blessed that I had the honor to cover the Holy Father for the viewers of Channel 11.
I have covered many international and national events during my 24 years at WPXI. Covering four presidents and political conventions as well as foreign leaders. I have covered earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. I went on a mission of mercy to Kosovo and Albania during the war in the former Yugoslavia. I covered plane crashes in Pittsburgh, The Olympics in Atlanta and probably the worst story ever on September 11th. I will never forget the scene at Shanksville. However, being a Catholic from West Mifflin, I believe that this will be the greatest event that I will ever cover in my life.
We left from WPXI at 7:00 AM for Washington. We arrived shortly after noon and met up with a group of broadcast journalism students from Duquesne University. They were doing a documentary and we did our first story on them at the Washington Monument.
We then went and interviewed Bishop Wuerl and these were our two stories for the five and six o’clock news. We went to our Washington bureau near the capitol to edit and do our live shots with the capitol in the background.
For the eleven we went and interviewed Bishop Zubik where I found out that he and Father Dennis were classmates. He told me a scoop that he will attend a mass at Christ the Light of the World Parish in honor of Father Dennis being a priest for 25 years. You heard it here first on our website. Back to the bureau for the Bishop Zubic story for the eleven and a live shot.
The next day we did not have credentials to see the pope at the White House. We jumped in a cab and went to the south lawn were we could see the large crowd at the white house. A large TV screen was set up for all the people on the perimeter. I shot all the people and the cannons that gave the pope a 21 gun salute. An unbelievable moment at the white house. After the event we interviewed Pittsburghers for our five and six stories. We saw the pope in the pope mobile on Pennsylvania avenue. It finally hit me that I was in the presence of the leader of our faith.
It was a moment that I will not forget. The people truly were caught up in the moment. We left for nationals park were the last minute preps for the mass was going on. We spoke to the music director for the mass. He was from Butler. I realized that no matter where you are in the world there will always be a Pittsburgh connection. We then went back to the bureau. I edited the three stories and were live for the five and six. We recorded a look live for the eleven because we had to leave for the mass the next day at six a.m.
I am enclosing several pictures to go along with this story for the website. I wanted to give our parishioners a perspective from the Pittsburgh group and not what you witnessed on TV. The video that I shot for the five and six stories for WPXI was from my camera and nothing else. Likewise the pictures for this story on the website was from a small digital camera. Basically what your eyes would have seen if you were lucky enough to go with the Pittsburgh group. I do not know how the people were selected but is was mainly youth groups and seminarians from our diocese. The group wore black and gold jackets and sat on the first base side in the first level. The seating on the field were for clergy and VIP's.
I was awestruck when the pope circled the field in the pope mobile. It was an experience that cannot be duplicated. The procession, the music the sight of the pope on the huge scoreboard was majestic. The Pittsburgh group prayed and sung and listened to his every word. It was hard for me to separate this moment from my work. I knew that I had to cover this but I also wanted to participate in this mass for over 46 thousand people. Communion was an unbelievable experience with priests all over the park at every level. Working yet partaking of the Holy Eucharist is a life defining moment. I bought four sets of Pope Benedict rosary beads. During the final blessing, an announcement was made that if anyone had some religious artifact or memento to be blessed now was the time to hold it up. So as while I was shooting video with my camera I held up my four sets of rosary beads and they were blessed by the Pontiff. I plan to give one to my mother and sister at 8:30 mass on Sunday. I will keep one and give the other to my grandmother.
We left the park and went back to the bureau to edit the mass stories for the five and six. We were live for the shows overlooking the Capitol. We left Washington DC at 7:30 and arrived in Pittsburgh at midnight. In retrospect, this was the greatest event that I could cover. I hope to learn and grow from this experience. I thank you for letting me share my journey with my fellow parishioners. Father Dennis, I will work on the Penguin Tickets.
Yours in Christ,
Tim Holoman
