The Rev. Shawn Corcoran, former associate pastor at St. Cecilia Church on the Far West Side, was among the hundreds of Roman Catholic clergy members who took part in a procession yesterday when the pope's body was moved from the Vatican's Apostolic Palace to St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing. Lying in state in the basilica, the pontiff's remains showed the physical maladies of his final years, Corcoran said. "His body had gone through the same trauma that everybody's else's does, and still it was a time of dignity, which continues to be an opportunity to glorify God," he said.
Valerie Ferrara, 21, of Upper Arlington, plans to be among viewers today. Since January, Ferrara has been studying in Rome in the American Institute for Foreign Study as part of her course work at Boston College, where she's a junior. The apartment she shares with four other students is a 10-minute walk from the Vatican.
"I thought we were going to come over here and experience Renaissance art; I didn't expect to experience the death of the Catholic Church's leader," said Ferrara, a member of St. Andrew parish.
Ferrara was in and out of Rome during the pope's final illness. She and her roommates have no television at their apartment, so they weren't immediately aware of the pope's death Saturday night. Most of the students' updates come from phone calls home.
"I regret not being there," she said. But she's glad to have been part of the vigil before John Paul's death and to be part of the crowd mourning him up close.
Although public transportation is still running and convenience stores are open, "I'm sure on Friday the whole city will be shut down," Ferrara said.
She and her friends plan to arrive early to secure a space at the funeral. "I'll be proud to experience such a special event in history and to pay respects and give praise to such a special leader," Ferrara said.
She's amid hundreds of thousands of clergy members and laity from many countries, and she's surrounded by flags at half-staff and signs reading, Il Papa, un uomo buono, or, "the pope, a good man."
"Hearing the emotions of so many, with such a large crowd, you can't compare that," Ferrara said. "It's the biggest historical event that I have experienced firsthand."
The experience is no less mesmerizing for Corcoran, 36, a native of Chillicothe. Since the summer, he has been studying canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, more commonly called Angelicum University. Corcoran hopes to be a Eucharistic minister distributing Communion at the funeral, but he thinks his chances are slim. "I would assume I'm not at the top of the list because it goes by seniority," he said. He was ordained in 2000.
Nevertheless, he was thrilled to take part in yesterday's procession to St. Peter's. "I was able to get into the Vatican because I was wearing a cassock and carrying a surplice," he said, describing the black robe and white overgarment. "They asked me if I was a priest and I said, 'I am.' " Upon approaching the body, he reminded himself that he represented those he served, he said.
Other local Catholics would like to attend the funeral but don't have a way there. Downtown lawyer John Kulewicz unsuccessfully called travel agencies in Chicago, Washington and Columbus in hopes of taking his family to Rome.Such a trip, Kulewicz said, is an "opportunity to be there for the funeral of a great man and the transition for the church and, above all, to see hundreds of thousands from around the world who feel the same way about him as we do."
GRAPHIC: Photo, The Rev. Shawn Corcoran and Valerie Ferrara, of Upper Arlington,
both, currently studying in Rome, are struck by the magnitude of this week's
events, there.