In the Washington Post –
For Crowd, Miraculous Moments – washingtonpost.com
The crowd that mobbed Nationals Park to see, or just be near, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday was a joyous, kaleidoscopic tableau of Catholics and non-Catholics from across the country who said they were drawn by faith, hope and a sense of the history of the moment.
"It’s a once-in-life experience," said Kevin Schoonmaker of Moline, Ill., who made the trip to Washington with his wife and five children even though they had only two tickets for the Mass. "The grace of being around such an event is well worth it." His wife, Maggie, and daughter Lexi, 13, used the tickets.
Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson was there, bearing palm fronds. "Often times, we get wrapped up in the things that we do," he said, "and it is just great to be out here with other believers."
There were men in suits and women in fancy Sunday hats. But there were also people wearing fleeces and baseball caps and Catholic-school students in plaid skirts and embroidered polos.
There were priests in cassocks of black or habits of brown and white, and nuns in blue and in white.
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