1984 Newspaperc�,ht fon'bonwar Vass
Pope John Paul greets more than half a million worshippers batumay at uownsview, HirporT. IVIOrr15 LaMOM oT i ne r-ree rress
Moment of faith transcends pomp, cold
By Jane Foy and Gordon Sanderson
of The Free Press
TORONTO — For all the flesh and blood of
it, it seemed like a Cecil B. DeMille film.
Against a backdrop of fierce sunshine
splitting through dramatic banks of hard
silver clouds, the sheer enormity of the hun-
dreds of thousands pressed together with a
single focus felt like a larger -than -movie
version of the famous Hollywood director's
larger -than -life epic biblical films. The pa-
pal mass here Saturday was the type of
human spectacle that gives birth to both
cliche and mythology.
For some it was a show with all the ele-
ments of a Hollywood director's dream,
flights of helicopters, fireworks, bands,
beautiful music and more than half a million
"extras," all in a sweeping setting against a
distant Metro Toronto skyline.
But for most Roman Catholic worship-
pers, sharing a eucharistic celebration with
their leader was a memorable religious ex-
perience on a field dominated by a towering
silver cross.
The sea of mud, the distances travelled,
the hours without sleep and running the
gauntlet of hawkers and pedlars proffering
papal souvenirs were all forgotten the mo-
ment Pope John Paul flew in by helicopter to,
lead the celebration of the faithful.
Police estimated the crowd at 700,000
while CBC television announcers suggested
about half a million. Whatever the head
count, it was the largest gathering of wor-
shippers ever assembled for a religious
event in Canada.
Early morning rain gave way to a high,
bright sun and a chilling northwest wind
sprung from Arctic ice. It was 10 a.m. and
steady streams of people poured onto the
380-acre (154-hectare) airfield site, walking
or riding buses, silver subway cars and
sleek green -and -white GO Transit trains.
Running a gauntlet of souvenir hawkers,
spectators were steered through roped -off
chutes, slapped with a section number stick-
er and breezed toward the appropriate cor-
ral. Those whose trip started out on the hard
terra firma of the tarmac soon found out
rain had turned the grassy areas spongy at
best and to ankle-deep mud at second best.
A grey-haired gent demonstrated how his
official $3 cardboard "pope chair" had
crushed and sank into the mire. "I wouldn't
want (the pope) to sit on it!"
Individuals, families, friends moved past
under the direction of what came to seem
like zillions of volunteers decked out in red
and gold plastic vests, the official colors of
• See Page E2, Col. 1
Christian
r.ity
I.
wore a little, thin
in crowded field
By Nick Martin
of The Free Press
TORONTO — A friendly, exuber
ant crowd Van turn ugly in an
instant.
It would have taken only one per-
son to go completely off the handle
Saturday for a lot of people to be
trampled into the mud.
As it was,.at least one punch was
thrown, threats were exchanged,
and a few hundred people found out
what it was like to be crushed in
near -immobility at Downsview ear-
ly Saturday afternoon.
Organizers of the papal visit to
Downsview left wide open spaces
for movement amid the dozens of
spectator sections to alleviate the
pressure of hundreds of thousands
of people, the kind of crush whose
potential had left many leery of at-
tending the mass, but they over-
looked one bottleneck between two
VIP areas to the right of the altar.
There was room enough for five
people to pass abreast, but when
television camera platforms pro-
truded into the walk and an official
tried to drive a station wagon
through the gap while hundreds of
spectators were jamming in both
directions, pedestrian traffic
plugged up entirely.
United Press Canada
An aerial view of the scene at Downsview on Saturday during the largest Roman Catholic mass ever celebrated in Canada.
■
r tC','pope c'�
Ar
ll W t while
L radon rouowait
By Mark Nusca
of The Free Press
It was a pilgrimage that ended as
it began — sleepy bodies travelling
through cold darkness. But for hun-
dreds of Londoners, Saturday was,
more than anything, a day filled
with the brightness of an unforget-
table sight.
"I kind of got wet but it really
doesn't matter. I got to see the
pope, Catholic Central High
School student Ian Saunders, 14,
said about 14 hours after departing
by train from London for Satur-
day's papal extravaganza. "I'm
satisfied. I'm really pleased."
Saunders, along with nearly 300
other London and area Catholics,
including close to 200 members of
It's a frightening feeling to ,have
your arms squeezed into your own
rib cage from all sides, to have not a
centimetre of breathing space in
any direction, to have people so
tightly compressed that movement
ceases to be voluntary and becomes
the will of a surging mass.
Seven or eight little old ladies,
attending as a group, took the traf-
fic jam for about five minutes and
then made their move, planting
their fists and elbows in the small of
the next person's back and pushing
off for all they were worth. Bodies
started stumbling in all directions
while the women moved into the
vacated space.
They eased up when a young man
in a football jacket offered to break
their arms if they pushed him
again.
In the other direction, a man in
his 40s used a forearm to get a little
leverage on a middle-aged woman
impeding his progress.
Leaning over the fence to wind
up, she hauled off and slugged him
in the shoulder with an overhand
right, then bounced forward while
the crowd carried him beyond re-
taliatory reach.
The man responded with a rude
suggestion inappropriate for the
prevailing mood of the day.
St. Peter's Basilica in London and a
think that makes a great deal of trenchcoated police.
spectacle a "once -in -a -lifetime"
Organizers of the journey to To -
group from St. Peter's Seminary,
difference compared to having,the "It was worth all the waiting and
event. "What impressed me the
ronto declared the well -planned trip
embarked before dawn on a train
people go to him," William Camp- the anticipation," London elemen-
most was the number of nationali-
a success. "It went beautifully and,
excursion to Toronto which ended
bell, a member of St. Peter's Basil- tary school teacher Evelyn Kilgour
.ties represented here. I spoke to
I'm sure the memories will last..
about 20 hours and many vivid
ica, said as mass ended. Camp- said as the massive crowd slowly
people from Vietnam, the Philip-
much longer than the mud," said.
memories later. Clutching folding
bell's remarks coincided with the headed home. "The turnout today
pines, England, India, Poland, Bel-
London high school teacher Dermot, -
co
stools, blankets, bags of food and at
pope's message of thanks for the was just terrific, I wish the weather
gium," Van Beers said while'
O'Flynn, who -organized the'
times even each other, they. wound
crowd's warm reception. While was a bit warmer but ...:"
ing his way to a mobbed subway
event with Patricia Gr'ay.' Gray
their way across a damp airport to
both spoke, a military helicopter Like many others taking part in
station nearby. "It was unbeliev-
called it a "fantastic day" and the
the south side of a sprawling, blue-
hovered high over the altar, which Saturday's journey, Clinton area
able. It really shows you what Ca-
culmination of church committee
carpeted altar, a sacred, outdoor
at ground level was surrounded by resident John Van Beers called the
nada is all about."
planning which began early in
showcase amid an estimated
500,000 faithful followers gathered
" `
Dennis Howard, 23, of St. Peter's
June.
Saturday did, however, get off to
in Toronto.
Free Press photos contained in this
Seminary in London, was among 20
a slow start for some Londoners
local seminarians to assist in dis-
travelling to Toronto by train. Doz-
They passed through gauntlets of
special section are by George-Bliumson,
tributing Saturday's holy commu-
ens of people who were to have
barking souvenir vendors and trails
nion. He called his participation in
boarded the train along with the St.
of ankle-deep mud to take up posi-
Ed Heal Bill lronside Michael Jordan
'
the mass "a really great honor."
Peter's Basilica group were`forced
tions and wait nearly six hours for
'
Three privileged members of St.
to wait about 30 minutes for later
the sound of helicopters ushering in
Morris Lemont, Sam McLeod, Bill Smith
Peter's Basilica received commu-
train after three empty passenger
white -robed Pope John Paul under
nion from the pope: Jeanette Sin-
cars left the tracks near Ashland
dark skies.
and Ken Wightman.
chair, Bernadine Bernardo and
Avenue in London at 4`:05 a.m. No
"He has come to the people. I
Mary Ducharme, all of London. _
injuries resulted.
Perhaps dreaming of papal pageants, seminarian Denis Campeau of St. Peter's Seminary in London and nis cousin, Lrin i ionand of
London, napped while riding home after a train excursion to see the pontiff in Toronto.
miaiana narepvv►c
Native peoples'
input im ressivep
the men and women pledged to keep ;
B Anne Murphy and Bill McGuire
Y p y
the pontiff safe whether' on land, .
of The Free Press
sea or air.
And if that means marching
MIDLAND - Want to know what
across the roof of the Highland Mo-
a pope talks about at lunch?
for Inn in the pre -dawn 'hours be -
On Saturday, according to one of
cause the pope has to fly over it to
his lunchmates, Rev. James Far-
land in a nearby field, so be it.
'
rell, Pope John Paul talked about
And besides, the guests'' don't
our native peoples.
need their beauty rest anyway.
Farrell, director of the Martyrs'
Shrine, said the pope was truly im-
Anna Mae and Ted Canty of Li -
pressed with the native peoples' in-
vonia, Mich., went to Rome a
put into the service at the Shrine
couple of years ago to see the pope
field,
but missed an audience when their -f
He specifically mentioned the
airplane was delayed.
This time they stayed up all night '
drummers who performed, during
the sweetgrass ceremony.
to stake out a front row position in ,.
their section and were rewarded
* * *
with an up close and personal view '
While the pope's attention was on
of John Paul when the popemobile
sweetgrass, Peter Van Wees's at-
passed by.
tention was on another kind of flora
Anna Mae's brother, George
— roses.
McGuckin, and his wife Mary Ellen
Van Wees of Princeton donated
of Taylor, Mich., left their 12 chil-
500 roses for 60 red, yellow and
dren at home and joined the over -
white arrangements that surround-
night vigil. for a brief look at the
ed the pontiff during his visit to the
pope.
shrine.
They weren't disappointed:
Talk about police involvement
Perhaps the closest the crowd felt
with a man of peace.
to John Paul was when he rhymed
The RCMP had assigned , Sar-
off the names of the eight martyrs
geant Rick Lee to assist the 1,600
in his homily.
accredited journalists to the shrine
The rolling cadence of his voice
visit.
matched the splendor of the Geor-
Lee said he'd do his best to help.
gian Bay hills that served as a back -
If he couldn't, he had seven assis-
drop for the visit of a lifetime.
tants who might be able to answer
questions. And if that wasn't
enough, he chuckled, each one of
although it turned out that there
them had seven assistants.
was more than enough room at the
shrine, Laurette Roy of St. Thomas,
* * *
wasn't about to take any chances.:.
There's nothing quite like waking
Hearing that the gates to the shrine
up at 3 a.m. to the pitter-patter of
would be opened at 8 p.m. Friday,.'
army boots gallumphing along the
Roy set up a vigil at the gate at 1
roof.
p.m. and was one of the first
But it's all in the call of duty for
admitted. I
Worshippers to"ihare moving celebration with pope
•From Pale E1 leaned against a bright blue plastic director at a Toronto home for the because of the papal tour duty, He drum marked "donations," contri- aged, could laugh in the next day's 'remarked how many police uni-
the papal visit. A look around
showed a, -swath of 8,000 people be-
tween the gent with the pope chair
and the "26-foot-high (eight -metre)
altar.
Covering almost an acre, the
spare lines of the altar and stepped
platform rose out of the human ka-
leidoscope with an overwhelming
simplicity. Eighty feet (24 metres)
of stark white steel cross splintered
the big dome of the sky, a prairie -
type horizon marked by a CN
Tower the size of a nail.
At ground level, Jackie Rosati
ro
butions to pay for the papal visit. A
medical spotter, one of about 8,000
volunteers at Downsview, Rosati
had been up all night through the
rain, cold and mud to help ready the
site.
Although few came, the gates had
been opened at midnight Friday for
the 3:30 p.m. Saturday arrival of
the pope. The volunteers found
themselves stumbling about in the
dark in the rain with the tent to be
erected for,their shelter lying use-
less in the mud and water.
But despite their unhappiness the
volunteers carried on with their
gargantuan task. Rosati, nursing
sun: "We walked so much I. wore
out my slacks."
At noon the outer ring of audience
corrals which stretch to the western
horizon had started to fill up. In the
semi -circle of sections around the
altar, small communities formed
with strangers talking, families
eating and tired bodies sleeping on
blankets and impromptu cardboard
mattresses.
Patrolling inside the final steel
barrier between the throngs and the
altar, a plainclothes RCMP officer
front Ottawa mused that he missed
starting his usual university course
forms had been ruined by the rain
and mud in Newfoundland and won-
dered if he would be assigned to
follow the pope to Western Canada.
In one of the field hospitals, the
event has already overwhelmed a
few people for whom the stress
snapped in the shape of a migraine
headache.
Outside an army of faithful from
St. Jane Frances parish, waving
red, white and green banners, took
a full 20 minutes or }pore to pass
through an entrance gate. The mo-
saic of national colors, -costumes
and languages was evidence of the
ethnic pride that the Polish pope
seems to release at every stop on
his tour.
On the north side of the altar, a
10,000-strong choir from the Toron-
to archdiocese, wearing yellow vi-
sors and neckerchiefs, stretched on
and on like an endless prairie as
they moved to their seats. Giant
video screens flashed live television
coverage of Pope John Paul's visit
to Midland.
By 2 p.m. police were starting to
block off pathways and curtail the
movements of the crowd. People
had settled into their temporary
homes, familiar with their sur-
roundings. They were ready for the
main event.'
A look around showed human be-
ings as far as the eye could see. And
at any given moment it seemed all
of them were looking ahead to the .
altar.
Aldona Tallo, a volunteer worker
from Oshawa, offered a simple ap- , r
praisal of the pontiff: "He's a living
saint, really."
At 3: 45 p.m. a convoy of four heli-
copters appeared out of the north-
east and the biggest single gather- `
ing on the papal visit looked as one -
to the sky. One chopper broke away '
and swooped down in a wide are of
greeting over the mass of people. '
"Il pape," someone cried. And '
the hundreds of thousands cheered.
THE LONDON FREE PRESS, ` Monday, September 17 1984 THE PAPAL VISIT E3
iohn Paul never too tiored for tots, disable(i
Thousands of faithful gather to listen as Pope John Paul conducts a service at the rustic
wooden altar at the Shrine field in Midland.
Security pays off
Pope leaves Huronia
on time,
By Bill McGuire
of The Free Press
MIDLAND — The Prince of
Darkness was simply outgunned
here Saturday by the Prince of
Peace.
More than 2,000 security people
were involved, including RCMP,
OPP, army, police auxiliaries, pri-
vate security firms, firefighters
from throughout the area and the
special Vatican guards who always
travel with the pope.
While visitors to Martyrs' Shrine
may have been awed by the sight of
so many armed personnel, the
moves apparently paid off.
Pope John Paul's six -hour visit to
Huronia went off without a hitch
and on time.
Early Saturday there were more
police on the roadways to the shrine
than there were visitors heading to
the site. Traffic snarls were kept to
a minimum mainly because there
were few private vehicles on the
roads.
Midland motorists were issued
passes to drive as of 2 p.m. Friday.
If they left town after that time
without a special pass they were not
to be let back in until after the
pope's departure. All main roads
leading to and from the site were
sealed during the visit except for
controlled shuttle buses.
It was incongruous at times dur-
ing the homily to look at the pope,
commonly known as the Prince of
without hitch
Peace, being surrounded by so
many people carrying guns.
While almost 100,000 people
joined the pope in praying for
peace, two helicopters circled
Shrine field while another hovered
over the crowd. Instead of looking
like what it was, the mass outpour-
ing of love for the pope could re-
mind one of scenes from a Vietnam
war movie.
The RCMP threat assessment
team "swept" the area before the
visit, as is usual before any major
leader's appearance in Canada,
"but everything in Huronia was ex-
tremely quiet," one RCMP officer
said.
The bulk of the security was sup-
plied by the OPP.
Not only were police involved, the
medical community was out in
force.
Seven physicians and 18 nurses
worked 24 hours straight from Fri-
day afternoon in the main hospital
tent. Staff on the other two tent sites
were not as busy but their hours
were almost as long.
At the main tent, 140 people were
treated but most cases were minor
except for two possible heart
attacks.
"Most of the patients were just
cold during the night and we would
bring them in and warm them up,"
one young doctor explained Satur-
day. Up to 3,000 people spent the
cold and rainy night in the open
waiting for the pope.
By Bill McGuire
of The Free Press
MIDLAND — Saturday was the
seventh day of his Canadian visit,
but he didn't rest.
Instead, he just made friends
with about 100,000 people at the
Martyrs' Shrine here and endeared
himself to the native people when,
using an analogy, he said "Christ is
an Indian."
Pope John Paul, 64, hopscotching
across Canada with the stamina of
a much younger man, landed -.by
helicopter outside this town right on
schedule Saturday morning. Before
he stepped into his popemobile, he
walked along the edge of the ador-
ing crowd and was actually laugh-
ing as he tousled the hair of tots,
kissed others and shook hands and
waved to people.
The day before, he had left Hali-
fax in a rainstorm, then conquered
Toronto as no other foreign digni-
tary has in recent memory.
His visit to Huronia was, accord-
ing to shrine director Rev. James
Farrell, an unqualified success, de
spite crowds much smaller than the
200,000 to 250,000 people originally
expected.
F�
Farrell blamed early press re
ports on the visit stressing possible
traffic problems and current bad
weather as probable reasons for the
low attendance. (One field which
had been prepared to hold 90,000
people was empty throughout the
six -hour papal stay).
Be that as it may, area citizens
fell in love with the man.
A Midland hotel clerk who
couldn't attend but watched on tele-
vision said "I just cried when he
played with those Indian children. I
come from Penetang (Penetangui-
shene) and not many people in Pen-
etang have many good things to say
about the Indians."
Before driving to the altar at
Shrine field, the pope had visited
Ste. Marie among the Hurons,
where he talked with tour guides,
visited a reconstructed Indian long -
house with an Ojibwa family, said
site Je-
prayers at the grave of two
suit missionaries martyred in the
17th century and frolicked with In-
dian children in the audience.
At one point, he asked a guide
"How many people lived in that
house?" The guide replied 18.
The pope reads the Bible as he sits in the papal helicopter that
transported him between Toronto and Midland.
Pontiff urges adoption
Of native Indian values
By Anne Murphy
of The Free Press
MIDLAND — Calling Jesus
Christ an "Indian," Pope John Paul
asked Canadians and ' Catholics
around the world Saturday to adopt
native peoples' values.
Speaking to about 100,000 people
attending a special ceremony at the
Martyrs' Shrine field, the pope said
the world needs to see and adopt
Indian values such as a love of the
land and respect for elders.
"Through his gospel, Christ con-
firms the native peoples in their be-
lief in God, their awareness of his
presence, their ability to discover
him in creation, their dependence
on him, their desire to worship him,
their sense of gratitude for the land,
their responsible stewardship of the
earth, their reverence for all of his
great works, their respect for el-
ders. The world needs to see these
values — and so many more that
they (the Indian people) possess —
pursued in the life of the communi-
ty and made incarnate in a whole
people."
Although Indian and Christian
traditions may differ, they are
linked by the fact that Christ is "the
very centre of all culture," the pope
told an audience of native and non-
native peoples.
"Thus, not only is Christianity
relevant to the Indian peoples, but
Christ, in the members of his body,
is himself Indian."
It's the second time so far the
pope has made special mention of
Indians during his visit to Canada.
A week ago, the pope called on Can-
ada's native peoples to use "com-
promise and dialogue" to achieve
their rights when he spoke at Ste.
Anne de Beaupre in Quebec.
On several occasions during his
homily at the Shrine field, John
Paul was applauded for his support
of native culture.
Indian traditions have been
"strengthened and enriched" by
the gospel and, in turn, have added
to the Catholic Church, he said.
"We also recall how the worthy
traditions of the Indian tribes were
strengthened and enriched by the
gospel message. These new Chris-
tians knew by instinct that the gos-
pel, far from destroying their au-
thentic values and customs, had the
power to purify and uplift the cul-
tural heritage which they had re-
ceived.
He said it was appropriate he
speak about Canada's diverse cul-
tures at the Martyrs' Shrine be-
cause it was "a symbol of unity of
faith in a diversity of cultures."
Eight martyrs — six Jesuit
priests and two lay brothers — are
honored at the shrine because they
were willing to die to "bring faith to
the native people whom they
served," the pope said.
He also recognized the efforts of
native leaders such as Kateri Te-
kakwitha whom he beatified four
years ago for her work among the
Mohawk Indians.
One of the martyrs, Jean de Bre-
beuf, dreamed of the day when
there would be a church "fully
Catholic and fully Huron as well."
That dream came true Saturday
for eight Ojibwa men who were
commissioned by the pope as dea-
cons and will work among their peo-
ple as a link between the clergy and
lay people.
"Eighteen!" the pope exclaimed.
The day had not started on such a
happy note. At 6 a.m. it was cold
and raining as more than 3,000 peo-
ple huddled in the night awaiting
the pontiff.
One of these was Sister Maureen
of Mount St. Joseph in London, for-
mer supervisor of music for London
schools, who now does volunteer
work at Marian Villa.
She arrived by chartered bus at
the shrine site M 2:30 a.m. Satur-
Pope John Paul, 64, is
hopscotching across
Canada with 'the
stamina of a much
younger man.
day and huddled under a blanket
until daylight. "When the pope ar-
rived, everything was worthwhile,"
she said.
The sun broke through the clouds
shortly after 7:30 a.m. and the
crowd was in a jovial mood, but
already more than 100 had been
treated for minor miseries at three
hospital tents. "Most of them are
just cold, but there are a couple of
broken ankles," one medical super-
visor reported.
Folksingers, a massed choir,
By Anne Murphy
of The Free Press
trumpet players and singalongs
kept the crowd on even keel during
the early hours, but the first wild
burst of applause came when the
papal helicopter buzzed the field
just before it landed.
Farrell said the pope was at his
best during a brief ceremony at the
shrine church which was held for
the disabled.
"When we entered he asked if we
were going out the same way and
when I told him we would be leaving
by another exit, he just started cris-
scrossing the pews so he wouldn't
misg anyone in the church. -
"When he came to somebody with
a grave disability or someone
gravely retarded he would give
them special blessings."
The dignitaries were all there,
Premier William Davis, cabinet
ministers, municipal officials,
church hierarchy, the rich and im-
portant in the reserved sections,
but the day was really for the peo-
ple — the elderly lady who held her
rosary above her head all during
the pope's homily, the young moth-
er who held an infant aloft as the
popemobile passed by, the nurse
who was crying just for the pure joy
of crying.
The rain held off until just before
the pope left the altar. The down-
pour had thousands fleeing for their
shuttle buses before a mass said by
Bishop Alexander Carter of Sault
Ste. Marie could be started.
n feather
significance
relationship, God chose the eagle to
be his messenger.
To wear the eagle feather, a per-
son must have several virtues in -
MIDLAND — It was, no accident
the eagle feather Ernest Benedict
presented to Pope John Paul was
tinged with red.
The color represents blood and
the pope has had personal exper-
ience with bloodshed, explained
Benedict, an Iroquois Indian from
the St. Regis reserve near
Cornwall.
You have also shed blood and it
has been noted on the feather," said
Benedict as he handed the pontiff a
symbol of knowledge and direction
on behalf of Canada's native
peoples.
Although Benedict did not men-
tion any specific incidents, the ref-
erence to blood appeared to be con-
nected with assassipation attempts
on the pope's life.
The presentation of the feather
was also significant because the
pope, like the eagle, has a special
relationship with the creator, -ex-
plained Mary Lou Fox of the Ojib-
wa Culture Foundation.
Of all of God's creatures, the ea-
gle is closest to him because he can
fly higher and see more than the
other animal. Because of the close
eluding humility, compassion, wis-
dom and must not be afraid to fight.
It's a reward usually reserved for
an Indian warrior, but the native
people wanted to use the presenta-
tion to show their high regard for
the pontiff.
During the same special celebra-
tion in honor of the pope's visit to
Ste. Marie among the Hurons and
the Martyrs' Shrine, native people
re-enacted the sweetgrass
ceremony.
The ceremony acts as a ritual of
purification, communication and
thanksgiving, Fox explained. The
smoke of the sweetgrass is rubbed
on the torso and head so one can
think better; on the hands and arms
to promote selfless acts; on the feet
to make them go where they will
accomplish the most good and on
the heart to make it warm and
accepting.
After watching the native people
honor him, the pope blessed eight
native deacons and exchanged fur
stoles with them.
As he did, the sun made its only
brief appearance during the cere-
mony.
i S 11
the hot -selling itefolsol
By Anne Murphy
That didn't stop one young man
from trying his best. As the tem-
of The Free Press
perature inched ever so slowly to-
ward the high of 13, he reminded
MIDT,AND — Depending on what
customers that it was time for a
you had to hawk during the pope's
change to a cool treat.
visit in Midland on Saturday, it was
either feast or famine.
He didn't get many takers.
For those people selling hotdogs
Another young barker who lucked
at $1.,75 on site in the chilly early
out on her choice of product
morning hours, business was fair to
quipped: "If I'd been selling coffee,
middling. But for those fortunate
cigarettes or alcohol, I'd be a mil -
enough to have chosen coffee to sell,
lionaire by now." Instead, she was
the product sold itself - at 50 cents
stuck with some lukewarm hotdogs.
a cup.
The same theory applied to offi-
Although there was no admission
cial souvenirs. A $3 cardboard seat
charged for any of Saturday's ac-
tivities, it wasn't exactly a cheap
seemed a good buy and could be
pressed into service later as a carri
outing. By the time a family of four
er for all the other souvenirs. But
parked the car ($8), took a shuttle
bus ($3 each), bought some food
few people appeared to have a copy
of a special papal recording on their
for four hot dogs and milk) and
Walkmans. It was on sale for $9.
picked some souvenirs (ranging
from
in price fcould find
to
For those who were banking on
cold drinks to make some cold cash
its wallet a little oon n the thin side.
business was abysmal, according to
There was a small consolation —
several young people stuck with a
the souvenir booths took credit
cooler full of soft drinks and no
cards for purchases of more than
takers.
$25.
Deeply moved by his meetings with native Canadians at Midland, John Paul
praised Indians' cultural values as being true to the spirit of Christianity.
`Instant city' not without its worldly problems
Pope John Paul celebrates mass Saturday at Downsview Airport. At left is Cardinal G.
Emmett Carter, archbishop of Toronto.
spoke to a reporter between trouble
pitched in willingly, they had to
By Gordon Sanderson
calls.
watch Saturday's proceedings on
of The Free Press
Building the large altar, con-
television from the jail.
structing gravel roads, laying kilo-
Another service on full alert Sat-
TORONTO — The most wanted
metres of electrical and coaxial ca-
urday as crowds invaded the site
man, apart from Pope John Paul,
bles for communications networks
was North York fire department
on the site of the papal mass Satur-
and installing water service lines to
with fire pumpers, a rescue unit
day was a plumber — any plumber.
food and medical tents was the
and special foam truck on hand in
"There's a fire hydrant leaking
main job, but there were a thousand
case of emergencies.
water into the pope's changing
minor details to be co-ordinated by
There were 16 fire prevention of -
room," crackled the two-way radio
the site committee headed by
ficers keeping an eye on things, in -
at the site maintenance headquar-
Frank Watt.
cluding "four men patrolling under
ters just two hours before the pon-
°�
the stage area (elevated altar
tiff's arrival. "Can you get someone
`Last weekend
structure) at all times," said a dep-
Their were
here right away?"
uty chief. main concern
"The VIP washrooms are over-
was
the `food tents and the 70 diesel -
flowing," was another urgent call
everything
powered generators supplying elec-
received by Bev Gies, the young
.
beautifulThe ground
trical power.
woman handling the site crew's
Although ready for almost any
communications network.
Was dry, we had the
possible emergency, there was one
These were just a couple of inci-
dents reflecting the practical,
runway swept, the
item these behind -the -scenes per -
sonnel couldn't do much about —
though mundane aspects, of an "in
altar was perfect —
field mice.
furry
stant etty',', of tents, plywood shan-
The cute -looking, tiny,
�t equt, trailers and other
now IOOk at it.
"creatures living undisturbed in the
,upport services to accommodate
rough grass of the huge airfield sud
the hundreds of thousands of wor-
denly found themselves invaded.
shippers who transformed the
"It's beer) a lot of hard -work by a
, They were a source of amuse-
Downsview airfield into a restless
lot of dedicated people," said a
ment in the media tent but caused a
human sea.
crew supervisor.
few concerns among the squeamish
"Last weekend everything was
Not all the help was entirely vol-
in some of the public areas as peo-
beautiful," said Gies."The ground
untary. About 30 inmates from Mi-
ple sat through the long wait for the
was dry, we had the runway swept,
mico Correctional Centre, assigned
mass to begin.,
the altar was perfect — now look at
to do community work, spent two
"Don't kill it, they're God's crea-
heard to
-
it.,,
weeks lending a hand under super-
tures," one woman was
It was the slightly disappointed
vision of correctional officers.
exclaim as a mouse scurried
reaction of a worker battling prob-
While the men, serving less than
through a seating area. Her reward
lems of mud and trouble -shooting
two-year sentences for a variety of
for rescuing the tiny rodent by pick -
plumbing and washroom emergen-
crimes, including bank robbery,
ing it up was a nasty bite.
cies as thousands of feet churned
unpaved parts of the grounds into a
grey quagmire. However, these
,.
`.
were treated as a minor inconven-
iences by most in the good-humored
crowd who had come to participate
in a deeply religious experience.
.
Gies is one of hundreds of paid
f
employees, aided by an army of vol
_
unteers, who began five months ago
I
to make physical preparations for
,
��
the event.
"I have been on site since June
-
and we'll be here probably to thewo
end of September," she said. The
long runway at the Downsview
Canadian Forces base, used as part
i�
of the outdoor layout around the al
tar, must be cleared and reopened
by Tuesday. It is also used by deHa-
µ .
villand for its Dash 8.aircraft, Gies
said.
"A plumber is on the way," she
6
told the fire officials worrying
about the leaky hydrant, as she
Hospital tents got an early test
Hypothermia tcommon
complaint of patients
Hypothermia (lowered body tem-
woman was wrapped up against a
sary on the brisk autumn -like Sat -
urday, but included interesting cau-
By Jane Foy
perature) was a common complaint
case of hypothermia.
Earlier, a volunteer had been tak-
tions such as "wear
of The Free Press
and treated with blankets, electric
en by ambulance to one of the North
broad -brimmed hats, move about
TORONTO — Steve Tallo was one
heaters and hot packs.
Although each field hospital was
York hospitals geared to handle
transfers from the Downsview site.
slowly (and) avoid personal con -
frontations to maintain an even
of the first to go. But he certainly
wasn't the last to resort to one of the
equipped with the machinery to
fight a cardiac arrest, Watson said
Watson said a preliminary diagno-
temperament."
eight field hospitals set up for the
the hospitals essentially remained
sis of the ill woman indicated an
ovarian cyst aggravated by the ex-
There were warnings about foods
brought from home that might spoil
papal mass here Saturday.
The Oshawa volunteer worker, a
front-line centres.
Doctors were unable to save a 69-
ertion of setting up the site
easily and highly sugared or salted
big man, was stricken with a pain-
ful arthritic -type ache in his knee. It
year -old Ohio woman who had a
heart attack. She was pronounced
overnight.
Dr. Jerry Zownir said a number
foods that "may increase your
thirst and affect your disposition,"
was the product of walking in the
dead on arrival at Toronto hospital.
of complaints were aggravations of
such as the hyperactivity caused by
wet fields of the airfield mass site
Those in need of medical atten-
existing health problems such as
sweets in young children.
here in the cold, the dark and the
tion made for a constant but moder-
high blood pressure and other heart
lung Anxiety and
Apparently health officials were
rain overnight as organizers
pushed to ready the 154-hectare
ate flow into the tent near the Shep
pard East gate of the mass site,
and ,conditions.
stress associated with the enor-
as concerned about the mental and
emotional welfare of the huge
(380-acre) parcel of grass and tar-
said Watson. A second shift of medi-
mous event were also factors, re
for complaints such as
crowds as well as the physical. And,
mac for the scheduled 3: 20 p.m. ar-
rival of Pope John Paul.
cal staff was scheduled to work un-
til 10 P.M. when it was hoped the
sponsible
migraines, he said.
according to a report of a woman
punching a man during a crowd
Dr. Bill Watson, a St. Michael's
site would be clear of crowds.
Tour officials had the North York
crush, the concern was well placed.
Hospital staffer who opened one of
At noon there were up to a dozen
public health department come up
the blue -and -white striped medical
people being treated — two were in
with a list of health hints for the
tents on the 6 a.m.-2 p.m. shift, said
beds, medicated for migraine head-
papal visit in Toronto, North. York
o07 provides thrill
.at noon that the first wave of pa-
aches, an elderly woman had cut
and Huronia.
tients had been volunteers suffering
her face in a fall on the slippery
The tips for "protection against
for pope watchers
the effects of the cold and damp.
grass and a small middle-aged
heat and sun" were hardly neces
Terry Batty of St. Thomas arrived at Downsview at 5 a.m. and wrapped
himself in foil to keep warm in the chilly weather.
Foolhardy
newsman
focus
of peers
By Gordon Sanderson
-of The Free Press
TORONTO — He was just
another photographer eager to
get his "'best shot" at the pope,
but an alarmed security sys-
tem treated it like a major
incident.
The RCMP saw him as a
possible suspect in position for
a shot of a different kind.
Unable to get a coveted spot
on one of two media tower
platforms overlooking the pa-
pal altar, a representative of a
Toronto area ethnic newspa-
per saw a ladder to another
great vantage point nobody
seemed to be using, and took
it.
He climbed the steel scaf-
folding supporting the outdoor
amplifiers and was aiming his
camera moments before Pope
John Paul started to ascend
the high altar.
His somewhat foolhardy ae-
tionsbrought police from all
directions. A uniformed offi-
cer went up after him,
searched the platform and
brought the man down to the
waiting arms of two burly
RCMP plainclothes men.
Though wearing media ac-
creditation, he was questioned
and his equipment bag sub-
jected to rigorous search.
Adding to his discomfiture
was- the embarrassment of
suddenly becoming the focus
of fellow journalists who
moved in like a pack to find out
what was going on. He hid his
media tag and police did not
release the man's name.
An unexpected thrill for specta-
tors in Toronto occurred when a
couple of thousand spotted the
pope's helicopter landing on the Al-
len Expressway and ran over to the
fence to wave.
Noting that the pope's escort heli-
copter was numbered 007, an ex-
cited woman chortled, "it's James
Bond."
some people to lift up their feet in the ankle -clinging mud on some
parts of the grounds at Downsview Airport.
Considerable pomp and ceremony surrounds the pontiff at Martyrs' Shrine at Midland. '"
Photographers and security men surround vope ,lonn raui atop me nuye dildl dt, LJVwII0VIVVvllII Nam, L W, I �u I u ,Y
Chrimst, not science
By Joe Matyas
of The Free Press
TORONTO — Pope John Paul
continued his critique of modern
technology here Saturday in a hom-
ily given to the largest religious
gathering in Canadian history.
About half a million people from
the country's industrial heartland
heard the 64-year-old pontiff urge
everyone present "to do your part
so that the power of technology will
serve the cause of hope."
At the 480-hectare (1,200-acre)
Canadian Forces base site in
Downsview where the pope said
mass.in the chilly open air, he ap-
pealed to scientists, researchers;
educators, politicians, workers, la-
bor leaders and businessmen to en-
sure that "the technology which has
done so much to build -Toronto and
all Canada will truly serve man,
woman and child throughout this
land."
Technology has contributed
much to uplift the human condition,
he said, "yet, at times, technology
cannot decide the full measure of its
own allegiance: whether it is for
humanity or against it."
"The same technology that has
the possibility to help the poor
sometimes even contributes to pov-
erty, limits the opportunities for
work and removes the possibility of
human creativity. In these and oth-
er instances, technology ceases to
be the ally of the human person."
The pope had introduced the
theme for the first time in his trip
here Friday at an ecumenical `gath-
ering of about 3,000 persons from
about three dozen Christian
churches.
"United in the name of Christ, we
need to ask critical questions and
assert basic moral principles which
have a bearing on technological de-
velopment," he said at an interde-
nominational Christian service
which was also attended by observ-
11VIII I 1 CAVAI TV V- .. v... ...- r-P---- - -- -
-
--.-
ers of the Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist
and Hindu faiths.
He called for a "new moral or-
der" which would direct technology
to helping the poor, workers, the
environment and "social needs
over production for military
purposes."
On Saturday, the pope asked all
men and women of goodwill, "striv-
ing to remain faithful to your ori-
gins ... toIexpress your new moral
unity in Canada."
Humanity is tempted to embrace
"a technological mentality," the
pope said, but "Christ continues to
send forth to his father his cry for
the salvation of the world, for the
building of a new Earth, one that is
more human."
Once, again, as he has throughout
his current tour of Canada, the pope
extolled the virtues of Mary, the
mother of Jesus, as a model for
others to follow.
Mary in her "maternity and femi-
ninity" offers the human dimension
of loving care and personal con-
cern, he said.
This part of his homily, warmly
received by Italian, Portuguese and
other ethnic Catholics who include
Marian devotion into their religious
lives, was somewhat puzzling to
non-Catholics in attendance.
"There was a strong emphasis on
Mary because on the liturgical cal-
endar this was a feast day for her,"
said Rev. David Nazar, a Jesuit
priest advising the press.
"It was something which would
appeal to many of Metro's ethnic
communities."
During the mass, the pope ac-
knowledged the ethnic diversity of
Toronto and paid tribute to the rich -
Hess of Canada's culture in which
people of -many backgrounds can
.live in peace and freedom.
The mass, said atop a nine -metre -
high (29=foot) altar which covered
an acre of ground, was organized so
that participants in it would reflect
Metro's multiculturalism. People
of 26 different ethnic groups took
part in the service. So did a 10,000-
voice choir and 1,200 priests and
religious sisters who distributed
communion on a mass scale.
"It was strictly on the honor sys-
tem and there was no control over
who received communion," said
Nazar. "There were probably
many Protestants who received it
and possibly people of other faiths
as well."
The mass took place under over-
cast skies in cool 14-degree weather
which turned thousands of noses
red and lips blue. About 350 people
were treated on site for exposure
and seven went to hospital.
Despite the inclement conditions
and the fact the altar seemed so
remote and far away, the faithful
patiently suffered through what
many will regard the most memo-
rable religious service of their
lives.
The service seemed to hold spe-
cial meaning for the hundreds of
physically handicapped and elderly
who had been moved by armed
forces personnel into specially des-
ignated sections in the front ranks
of the mass site. Music and an-
nouncements poured from speak-
ers stacked on towers.
Uniformed police armed with bil-
ly clubs were omnipresent and
crowd control was maintained
through a system of barricades
which kept people penned into
sections.
Thousands of officers from the
Ontario Provincial Police and Met-
ro Toronto police were involved in
traffic and crowd control, carrying
out a plan which had been carefully
designed beforehand.
"These people must be re-
strained," the manual said, adding
"there have been occasions when
even police officers have been over-
emotional and thrown themselves
at the popemobile.
"Volunteers, priests and nuns are
even more susceptible," the man-
ual said.
Although courteous to a man, po-
lice made sure barriers were
respected.
curious.. Canadians -throng to,,,pope
E6 THE PAPAL VISIT
Devout,
Ritual, emotions greet pontiff
Pope John Paul's tour of Canada has spanned a wide spectrum
of spirituality — from high ritual to spontaneous displays of
exuberance in the streets.
In Quebec City, top left, the pope celebrates the first mass of
his visit, with Bishop John Sherlock of London at his side.
At top right, the majestic Fines of St. Joseph's Oratory in
Montreal frame the papal altar, while, at right, two young
people share a tearful embrace during a youth rally in Montreal,
a common scene among those; who saw the pontiff.
Below, John Paul greets an entertainer dressed in ethnic garb
in Quebec City while, below right, a man hands out free flags to
spectators waiting, for the pope in the Quebec capital.
At bottom right, a group of spectators in Toronto left little doubt
they adore the pope. Riding in the popemobile, bottom left,
John Paul stretches his arms toward admirers in Quebec City.
Left, a man in traditional Polish dress uses a video camera to
record the action at a Polish rally with the pontiff at Exhibition
Stadium in Toronto.
THE LONDON FREE PRESS, ',Monday, September 1 i, 1984 �
r v . , Y ■ ■ %0
v%
for John Pavisit
few slashes of bright cloth in 'red
By John Matsui
and white to symbolize Canada, yel-
of The, Free Press
low and white for the pope, and
blue, white and red to represent the
MARKHAM — It was advertised
Slovakian flag.
as a day for Slovaks but that didn't
But the colors could not disguise
stop people from a dozen ethnic
the bare shell of a roofless building
backgrounds from trudging
through the mud to get a glimpse of
with rough concrete walls that still
the pope on Saturday.
projected metal reinforcement
rods like a crown of thorns.
The occasion was the blessing by
One group out in force were Cana -
Pope John Paul of the cornerstone
dian-Croatians whose blue, white
of what.will be the Cathedral of the
and red flags nearly outnumbered
Transfiguration.
And the thousands in attendance'
the white, red and blue of the
many of Slavic descent, Happily
Slovaks.
is case the pontiff somehow
stood on freshly laid sod that oozed,
missed the flags, a huge banner
buckled and soaked their feet.
The church itself, on land donated
from parishioners of St. Leopold
by one of the richest men in Cana-
Mandic Church between London
and St. Thomas proclaimed a wel-
da, .Stephen Roman of Markham,
come in Croatian: "Totes Tuns."
was nowhere near complete.
But it wasn't purely for religious
The facade was decorated with a
reasons that Croatians wanted to
see the pope, said one of the banner
�+ —
Seating�p®tS
bearers, Branko Simunac of 26
Notre Dame Cres. in London.
Simunac, who came with two
`w� �� Pq �'v°
watched
`very full busloads" of St. Leopold
V� �✓ o!
parishioners, said the pope knows
_
Croatia is a subjugated land and
by volunteers
when he sees the banner and flags it
will spur him to fight for Croatia's
The gates to the Downsview pa-
pal site opened at midnight Friday,
independence.
"We are people without a free
unleashing a steady stream of peo-
: country. The pope will help free
ple that kept up until 4 p.m. when
Croatia. He is always fighting -for
the pope was, already on the
grounds.
freedom."
Members of the Dubrovnik Folk -
Tickets were issued for 260 blocks
lore Ensemble of St. Leopold
of seating, each big enough to ac-
Church have danced before a lot of
commodate 4,000 persons, with
people in Canada and the U.S., but
ticket holders guaranteed six
their performance before the
square'feet of space in a specified
pope's arrival on Sunday will al -
row in theirsection.
ways stand < out in their minds.
Thus arined, those who braved
"It's an honor" to be one of the
the midnight cold could head for the
warm-up groups far the pope, said
warmth of their beds safe in the
Maria Kopic of St. Thomas.
knowledge that a volunteer usher
"It's kind of hard to believe we're
was keeping a sharp eye on their
here. I want to get as close to him as
space.
possible," said Cathy Boskovic of 54
Thatspace was grass if you were
Centre St., London.
lucky, if you weren't. For
The cathedral won't be complet-
.mud
those who didn't bring a chair or a
ed; for about a year but it already
groundsheet, vendors were doing a
has a couple of firsts. It will be the
land rush business at $18 for metal
first Slovak Byzantine cathedral in
:..'.' chairs and $3 for a cardboard box
Canada and will be the first church
version that held up well.
in the. Americas blessed by a pope.
Toronto, listen to John Pau ,I's soc-eeh at Midland.'
Airport took 14% hours longer to fill than to empty
By Nick Martin
of The Free Press
TORONTO — It took 16 hours to
fill Downsview Airport for Pope
John Paul's visit and 90 minutes to
empty it.
Fears that it could be as late as 4
a.m. Sunday before all the crowds
were on their way home evaporated
as hundreds of thousands of people
melted into the dusk, while John
Paul made his 'way to Markham
then back to downtown Toronto.
Musical d'ntertainment was pro-
vided and giant TV screens showed
the pope in Markham, moves de-
signed to help pass the time for the
throngs expected to wait out the
rush to the exits. But things went so
smoothly that no one paid any at-
tention to the frills as they filed out.
While a minority of the crowd
ducked for the exits while the pope
was still speaking, those who
stayed had no problem making
their way out of the grounds.
The only delay occurred at the
Wilson subway station, the north-
ern terminus of the University-Spa-
dina line, where the lineup
stretched almost a kilometre for
the station designed to handle28,000
passengers an hour at peak service.
The jam was alleviated when To-
ronto Transit Commission officials
perusaded tens of thousands to trek
south for 20 minutes to Yorkdale
Shopping Centre, where dozens of
buses were waiting for riders along
five major north -south routes as
well as shuttles to the Yonge Street
subway line.
By 10 p.m., three hours after the
crowd began to disperse, a person
wouldn't have known anything ex-
ceptional had occurred in the
neighborhood.
***
Lorraine Boutette of London was
kicking herself that she hadn't
brought her kids along to the papal
mass.
"I didn't bring my children be-
cause I was afraid, but now I wish
I'd brought them," said Boutette,
lay administrator of the Holy Spirit
parish at the University of Western
Ontario.
Boutette had been afraid to bring
her children into a mob situation in
case someone panicked and there
was a trampling crush.
She praised the on -site security,
which kept hundreds of thousands
of people well -organized and mov-
ing smoothly.
"I was surprised by how much
security there was," added Mike
Houlahan, another member of
UWO's Holy Spirit parish.
On the other hand, said Boutette,
she and other members of her par-
ish weren't too thrilled with their
seats, despite having arrived early
in the morning. Which gate people
chose to enter the grounds seemed
to play a key role in determining
how close they sat, regardless of escorted to the most distant and
time of arrival, she said. lonely seat in the stadium.
tte said some people who The three volunteers spent Satur-
Bouday waiting in the north end of the
were teto dissatisfied that they left
the airport site, threw away their grounds to seat spectators who nev-
er
tickets; walked around to another came.
.gate and got far better seats. It would have taken another
contingent invested 300,000 people or so spread around
The London copapal pass Downsview to fill their area, said
$3 each for the TTC'smine
Phil Ingoldsby, explaining that
and thought it terrific, she said, get-
ting two days of unlimited transit enough volunteers had tbe on
c
travel as well as a souvenir card hand to handle a potential crowd of
commemorating the pope's visit. 1.1 million people.
Boutette spent Friday scooting His wife, Linda Ingoldsby,
ablamed the media for talking about
round downtown Toronto trying to
keep up with Pope John Paul. "My the expected so much that peo
only disappointment is that the two Ple were scareedd away.
times I saw him, he turned away," The I showed and friend Angela
s
Fri -
she sighed. Stecker showed up at l0 p.m. Fri -
Tim Moher, the lay minister at day to staff their seating areas, the
the UWO parish, had better luck culmination of six months of plan
than Boutette, but he needed to be ning by their parish. By late Satur-
in shape to it. day afternoon, they had had little
Photographer Moher sprinted sleep.
Their section was among the
through downtown Toronto Friday
Forst .because It was both low and
to get pictures to show the parish-
far from the altar, said .Linda In -
Toners back at Holy Spirit. Saturdaygoldsby. With
"I'm the cameraman for Holy rain, it as awash "They hadn't
Spirit," he joked Saturday: I was put gravel down and the water was
on Avenue Road (for the papal mo to "
torcade) and thought I'd stay in one up `Try walking across that field.
position, but I got caught up in the It's over your ankles," Stecker
excitement and ran about 20
blocks. added. "To be honest with you, I don't
Moher said his enthusiasm has think they've taken very good care
been building for a year. "It's obvi- of the volunteers at all," said Phil
ously a unique setting and a unique Ingoldsby, complaining that more
experience." attention was shown to the cater -
While the three Londoners had ers, vendors and media.
planned to come to the papal mass "They were supposed to have
far some time, Boutette said, some cots for us, but that didn't work
Londoners held off until the last out " said Stecker.
couple of days when the excitement "We slept under a truck for a
took hold of them. couple of hours," said Linda
Priests to whom they had talked Ingoldsby.
were moved by the pope's address Later, said husband Phil, they were quieter than usual with only
to the clergy at St. Michael's Cathe tried the media tent, only to be local traffic permitted and there
dral Friday afternoon, calling it a turfed out in the middle of the night. was no problem getting to the air -
pep talk in which the pope empha- "Then we went to the confession port. "I was expecting a lot more
sized the sacrifices required by booth for a while and ... they people. Its not that crowded,' Cin-
priestly vows, Boutette said. kicked us out." namon said.
"They renewed their vows. That However, they weren't about to
was the highlight of it for the spend the whole day in the outback.
priests." "'ustgoing to watch the The best amateur photographs of
Were je pope
* * * and then move uthe day may well have gone to two
drive
Staying home to watch the mass firefighters whose fire engine was
Y g * * * parked on the expressway awaiting
on television just wasn't good Howard Cinnamon and buddy the papal helicopters.
enough for grandmother Fernande Yaron Kiflauvi occupied Uecker's Leaving their fire truck behind,
Losier of Belle River. "It's our faith seats by choice. they grabbed cameras with tele-
that brought us here. We won't see Clad in track suits and running scopic lenses and clicked away
him again." merrilywith an unobstructed view
o
With her were daughter Lisa Lo- shoes, the Downsview students the of the pope clambering into his
Bier and five -year -old grandson were in the far north corner of the
mass site where they were ready to popemobile.
Marc. sprint for the exits to get out ahead
They were undeterred by being
of the crowds. During the last two weeks, the
assigned a muddy area, although .Residents of the mass area, they planning office .was being flooded
Lisa lamented "we have our boots p g
on, but he (Marc) wants to be were permitted to drive within the with inquiries about walking or bi-
carried." , zone forbidden to outside motorists, cycling long distances to reach the
and left home only 45 minutes be- mass site from people fearful of
* * * fore the mass, parking about a 10
Three volunteer ushers from minute walk away. crowds of a million or more, the
I think there was
Newmarket found out Saturday They treated the mass as a spec- official said.
some real overreaction.
how Bob Uecker feels. tacle, said Cinnamon, although
Uecker is the retired bumbling they were thrilled when the pope -
major league baseball player of mobile reached their distant out- While some people showed up at
beer commercial fame who brags post. "It made the whole thing midnight to get decent seats, thou -
about the great free tickets his worthwhile when he rode by." sands of others sauntered onto'
reputation brings him, only to bey The streets around the mass site Downsview only a few minutes
A sea of faces and pennants greets Pope John Paul during a Polish rally at Exhibition Stadium in
Toronto on Friday night.
,They may lack military precision and fitness, but members of the pope's private army in Quebec exhibit devotion to duty as they welcome
the pontiff to Quebec City during the first day of his Canadian tour.
'Ca,nadi'an, troops
A few missed
By John Matsui
of The Free Press
QUEBEC — One of the smartly
dressed commanders called out the
order for a salute with sabres just
before the arrival of Pope John
Paul on the first day of his Canadi-
an tour.
A rattle echoed among the equal-
ly spiffy but aging troops in their
blue and red uniforms as most, but
not all, of their swords flashed to
the fore.
Another rattle and most of the
stragglers cleared their sheaths on
the second try.
But it took a third clatter of metal
before all the shiny steel sabres
glinted in a line in the afternoon
sun.
ahead of the pope, surprising gate-
keepers who did not expect a last-
minute crowd.
"They've all decided to come at
the last minute," said volunteer
Leo Morier of Richmond Hill, add-
ing that the afternoon sun following
the early morning rain and bitter
cold was bringing many people out.
"It picked up about 9 a.m. and it's
been steady ever since. It really
does surprise us, yes. We were hop-
ing it wouldn't happen this way, but
it is."
Because his northeast gate was
the smallest, people showing up
there late in the afternoon had a
chance at good seats, said Morier.
Two couples decided to make the
Punt from New Liskeard, not mak-
ing up their minds to attend until
Saturday morning. They had no
trouble getting to Morier's gate in
time to catch the pope despite not
having the residents' permit to
bring their cars into the 39-square7
kilometre restricted zone.
"We snuck right through. We
parked right around the corner. We
used Irish accents on them,"
quipped. Dave Smylie.
Not so, laughed his friend John
Calvin — the police let them drive
through because they had small
children.
Many Torontonians may have
watched on television, but people in
New Liskeard don't use excuses,
said Irene Smylie. "When you're so
close, you have to come. It's a
spectacle."
Not so jovial was Andy Sidlar of
Thornhill, who had pushed a baby
stroller from Finch Avenue where
he had been unable to find any of
the shuttle buses which were sup-
posed to carry outsiders to the mass
site. "The traffic was no problem
(getting to the general area), but
the walk was something else."
Revo Gritti lived close enough to
walk over at the last moment when
the weather held up. "I think they
organized this pretty well. No prob-
lem," he said, pointing out that
North York was not disrupted by
the hundreds of thousands of visi-
tors Saturday.
Although he was a Roman Catho-
lic, Gritti said, he was there for the
spectacle: "I'm just going to see
the crowd and the pope."
His friend, Honey Spring, was
there to give the pope a serious au-
dience, even though she was Jew-
ish. "I want to hear what he has to
say. He's a very powerful person."
***
The gauntlet of souvenir hawkers
that each spectator had to run to get
into Downsview had turned desper-
ate by 7 p.m.
The official food vendors slashed
their prices for mounds of cheese
and meat sandwiches.
The price of official memorabilia
was cut, but not to bargain base-
ment levels; those who had balked
at paying $5 for a mass program on
their way in could still pass up the
books at $4 a crack on the way out.
Not so reticent to cut their losses
were the unlicensed vendors left
with truckloads of pennants, but-
tons and papal portraits of varying
designs and quality.
Buttons that fetched $2 in the
morning were going at two for $1 by
nightfall. Dollar. -postcards were
four for a buck, $20 framed por-
traits were down to $5 and falling
fast, $4 pennants plummeted from
$2 to $1.50 from one street'corner to
the next and pedlars of "I was
there!" T-shirts pleaded for cus-
tomers to hurry before the last few
hundred disappeared.
Souvenir pedlars
get cold response
about five kilometres long and
three kilometres wide at the conflu-
ence of the Mackenzie and Liard
rivers.
Organizers say many people
were frightened off by news reports
predicting massive traffic jams
and lack of accommodation. Many
people apparently feared being
stuck for several days in lineups for
the two ferries across the Liard
River.
A British Columbia fruit vendor
was hoping to cash in on the tourist
trade after experiencing a boom
earlier last week with apple sales to
the local population.
Sales were so brisk for Allan
McCormick that his partner made
an extra trip back to the Okanagan
Valley to pick up a load of corn,
potatoes and apples.
"We sold 1,500 pounds of apples in
four hours when we first got here,
McCormick said. One lady bought
$300 worth of apples to send to re-
mote communities and camps.
"But now things have gotten
really slow," he said. "We're only
selling small quantities here and
moves draw o n i v some smiles tion of Fort Simpson, an island there."
These are the members of the
Zouaves Pontificaux Quebec battal-
ions, the pope's Canadian soldiers.
The soldiers are part of the inter-
national papal troops or Zouaves
Pontificaux created in the 1860s to
protect Pope Pius IX against Giu-
seppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot
and guerrilla leader who was a ma-
jor contributor to the unification of
Italy.
Garibaldi originally offered his
services to Pius but was rebuffed
and took over Rome in 1848 after
forcing the pope to flee the city.
Garibaldi himself was forced to flee
Rome the following year as a
French army force prepared to lay
siege to the city to restore papal
rule.
The papal states were again
threatened in 1860 and 1867 and Pius
called to his bishops for aid.
By Judy Cross
FORT SIMPSON, N.W.T. (CP) —
Concessionaires hawking. every-
thing from Elvis Presley wall hang-
ings to fresh B.C. fruit are disap-
pointed with the turnout for a
weekend native celebration in ad-
vance of the pope's visit Tuesday.
"Thank the good Lord, I'm not
sitting on more than $200 worth of
pope stuff," said concessionaire
Jim Gilchrist. "The only (pope.sou-
venir) moving is this little pin for
$3•"
Gilchrist drove from Camrose,
Alta., in his ancient bus, a travel-
ling store carrying an eclectic ar-
ray of merchandise that includes
cooking utensils; imitation jewelry
and toys.
Organizers initially expected up
to 10,000 people, with some esti-
mates running as high as 20,000.
Now, however, it looks as if no more
than 5,000 visitors will converge
upon this remote native
community.
That's still five times the popula-
The bishop of Quebec recruited less formal and Quebecois in gener- Anti ' —papal literaturu
550 Quebecois and sent them over- al became less religious over the
seas to defend the pope, ast two decades even the visibil-
"They were the first armed group
of Canadians to go to Europe," said
Joseph Ferron of Trois Rivieres,
commandant of the second
battalion.
Some papal soldiers from other
countries died in battle but none of
the Canadians ever fired a shot, he
said.
After the Canadians returned
home, the soldiers moved away
from their bellicose beginnings in
every way except for their uni-
forms and the odd military drill.
Ferron said the soldiers would
act as ushers for mass and get to-
gether to raise money for church
projects.
He added that as masses became
p >
ity of the Zouaves Pontificaux be-
gan to dwindle.
That is, until Pope John Paul's
visit when they were again front
and centre. '
"Present arms."
A row of ancient rifles even older
than their bearers projected
forward.
"Right turn."
The assembly swivelled to the
right as one well, almost.
Two soldiers found themselves
belly to blunderbuss with each oth-
er for a fraction of an instant while
they sorted out which hand was
their right.
All they could do was smile. The
crowd smiled right back.
found prior
EDMON TON (CP) — City police
arrested three Arkansas men Sat-
urday, alleging they entered Cana-
da illegally with a load of anti-
Catholic and anti -homosexual
literature.
They were arrested at an Edmon-
ton mall the day before Pope John
Paul was to visit the city.
Police had responded to a call
that someone was handing out anti -
papal literature in the parking lot, a
police spokesman said. The three
were believed to have entered Ca-
nada on Thursday by cutting
through an unmanned customs gate
on the Alberta -Montana border.
to visit
They were picked up with six
cases of anti -papal literature and a
carton of pamphlets from the Tony
and Susan Alamo Foundation of Ar-
kansas, police said.
Alan Lee Knetter, 23,.Douglas Jo-
seph Pendleton, 34, and an unidenti-
fied man in his 20s, were turned
over to, the immigration depart-
ment which will conduct a hearing.
Customs officials said the men will
also face charges under the Cus-
toms Act.
They will be asked to leave the
country voluntarily, and if they re-
fuse deportation hearings will be
held, a spokesman said.
T On e
'O-ft
tind the
chloldren
3
4 AN1,
r� a
F
.arid hri.�
An ailing boy and his mother receive a special visitor at the neurological ward at'Killam Hospital in Haiirax on r-riaay.
Canadian Press -United Press Canada
A little girl perches on her father's shoulders to get a better look at the pope
during a Polish rally in Toronto on Friday night.
Pope John Paul chats with three Indian children at a campfire at the restored Ste. Marie
among the Hurons site at Midland on Saturday.
The hand of an eager adult at Midland touches the sleeve of the pope's
garment as the pontiff stoops to speak to a small group of children.
EIO THE PAPAL VISIT THE LONDON FREE PRESS, Monday, September 17,1984
- rope jonn Paw
Sept. 15, 1984
Downsview Airport