Pope Binder

In the fall of 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Ireland and the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Des Moines, and Washington, D.C. in the United States.  It was the first papal visit to Philadelphia and there was great excitement in the Catholic community here.  The Pope celebrated an outdoor mass at Logan Square for approximately one million people; I was very excited to be in attendance with my friend Marie and her family.

Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting Philadelphia in 2015 for the World Meeting of Families.  I can't imagine him being greeted by hundreds of thousands of people and a ticker-tape parade.  We'll see.

For Pope John Paul II's visit, my sister Mary and her friend Cathy worked on an eighth-grade school project to document the event (and won second prize).

Initially I photographed the full view of the binder with some of the floor showing but decided that a partial view more accurately described the incompleteness of memory (and photography).  For example, my sister and I can't remember whose "Admit One" pass is included - possibly mine or perhaps someone in her friend's family - or what the cover used to say.   My strongest memories of the Pope's "pilgrimage of peace" is watching the sign language interpreter during the ceremony (my friend Marie's parents are deaf so we sat in a dedicated section), and learning to sign prayers and "I want ice cream".

The closer views also allow for a better appreciation of the framing made by my sister and her friend using construction paper and colored pencils.  And, as with the tape remnants in the scrapbook, I'm drawn to the binder's center and its attempt to hold things together.  Although I'm not sure what was available to them, my sister and her friend seemed drawn to images of women and children (and the Pope, of course).