I suppose my recollections are not as profound as others, me not being Catholic, but it was quite the thing when the Pope came to my town in September 1984 at the beginning of my fourth year of undergrad. I don’t have any photos but neither does Google Images so I don’t feel so bad. Here’s the CBC archive of the event – check out Knowlton Nash on the Popemobile.
I don’t really remember being all protestant and cynicalmyself but that is because some of my pals were quite protestant and cynical about the whole thing, the taking over of the Halifax Commons, the weeks of building the massive staging, being somewhat penned with about 200 others in small squares with plenty of Popemobile room in between and all. We kept thinking how much it was all like a concert. At the Friday night youth rally, before the rains of the next day, conveniently located half way between the university zone and the downtown taverns for afters, he kept opening his statements with (in a heavy Polish accent) “Yoou Yooung peeople of Haallyfax…” and we would fill in, loud enough to get scowls from the neighbours, “…reeely knoow how to paaarteee.” One pal, Will, was quite pleased that he could be outside but near St. Mary’s Bascilica watching the Pope perform the Saturday service there on a screen – as he had watched from the tav next door with an excellent view of the church walls, tv coverage above the bar, beer in his hand. Being a fellow traveller he was able to tell him mother truthfully he was in a crowd just outside the service and stayed there right the way through.
At the end of one of his days in town, he Popemobiled at a faster clip down Coburg past our university to the Bishops house where he was staying, thin crowds in the warm evening waving as he headed to bed. We all waved night-night to the Pope.
Update: The Pope passed away mid-afternoon Saturday our time.