Soldier Field celebration brings Catholics together

By Michael D. Wamble
STAFF WRITER

‘Receiving Communion, in our stadium, in our parish, is a public act, as the church is a public body,” said Cardinal George to the nearly 30,000 Catholics who weathered showers and heavy downpours June 24 to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi in Soldier Field at one of the largest outdoor ceremonies in archdiocesan history.

While the showers may have lowered attendance, it couldn’t dampen Cardinal George’s spirit, as he looked out at the soaked faithful that mirrored the diversity of the city and surrounding counties.

“This has been the most effective sprinkling rite in the history of the Catholic Church,” said Cardinal George, at the start of the Mass.

Music from archdiocesan choirs, a Korean orchestra, the William Ferris Chorale and various Hispanic, African-American and Polish ensembles filled the open-air space before the vigil Mass.

“Viva Jesus!,” chanted dripping Boni Avila, who led a large delegation from Mision Juan Diego in Palatine to Soldier Field. “People always complain about the weather, but I say, ‘Thank you God for the rain,’” he said.

St. John Cantius parishioners passed through the turnstiles accessorized by bright yellow and white bandanas, the colors of the papal flag that flew atop the stadium’s walls.

On the field, Horizontes Mexicanos, a troupe of Mexican liturgical dancers, led a banner procession of parishes and Catholic organizations to begin the Mass, even as the rain began in earnest.

In the stands, Yvonne Adams of the South Side’s St. Ambrose Parish and Ricardo Winterstein of North Side St. Alphonsus, two of many event volunteers, helped direct the steady stream of worshippers to their seats.
“I knew that I wanted to be here, so I said to myself why not help out,” said Adams.

“Any time I can come together with 30,000 of my closest friends I’m going to be there,” said Winterstein.

Before the Mass, some in the congregation settled in beneath umbrellas while others headed for the stadium’s sheltered areas watching indoor monitors. Watching the Mass from inside, many bridged societal gaps found in some parishes, bringing together people—young Latinos, middle-aged African-Americans, older Lithuanians and Poles—across ethnic and racial boundaries, who exchanged hugs and handshakes as signs of peace.

The Mass also managed to pull in those more accustomed to seeing fans than worshippers.

Food service rep Peggy Flood followed along with her program behind a bottled water vending booth. “Maybe he (God) wants us to suffer a little bit, to be uncomfortable to appreciate what it means to be here together,” said Flood, normally on hand for Bears football and Chicago Fire soccer games.

“The people here are certainly hungrier than the Promise Keepers were,” said Mary O’Brien, recalling the faith-based men’s group that rallied at the field a few summers ago.

Food sales, of course, were cut off an hour before Mass.

While O’Brien worked the event, her cousin Rita Mitchell sat in the soggy stands with other members of Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish in Cicero. And whenever sporadic cloudbursts sent hundreds scurrying for shelter, the majority reached for umbrellas, slickers, or programs to shield themselves from the rain as the cardinal and an archdiocesan choir sang the traditional “Agnus Dei.”

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gray of sky, would keep Catholics from what they hungered for most at this communal ceremony: the Eucharist.

“In this sacrament, bread and wine are truly and substantially changed and become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the bread of angels, the bread of pilgrims,” said Cardinal George in his homily.

Pilgrims from as far away as Los Angeles and the Bahamas joined Catholics from Chicago and other nearby dioceses in public worship at the “Field of Faith,” scheduled to coincide with the week-long 47th International Eucharistic Congress Pope John Paul II opened June 18, said Sheila McLaughlin, director of the Office for Divine Worship in Chicago, who helped choreograph the event.

While rain clouds hovered over the field, the cardinal reminded those gathered that these storms were temporary, like others in the lives of God’s people.

“What we do now in this great stadium, we will do for all eternity,” said Cardinal George.

McLaughlin, as well as Al Castillo, director of the Millennium Office, were immersed in the details of keeping the day on schedule.

Amid the talk about the weather and how many people where in the stands, Castillo said a simple question from a woman snapped him back to what the event was all about.

“She asked, ‘Donde esta situado mi parrochia?’” he said, which translated is “Where is my parish seated?”

It was 3 p.m. She had missed her parish’s bus. But it didn’t stop her from making it to Soldier Field.

“She told me she wanted so bad to be at the Mass, she took a cab all the way in,” said Castillo, who hastened to seat her.

“I … looked and saw she was holding on to another hand,” he said, the hand of her blind son. “At that point, I didn’t care about the rain or what the attendance count was, just about a mother and child who wouldn’t let anything stop them from being a part of this religious event so important to them. That,” he said, “speaks to the power of the Eucharist and how it can touch people’s lives.”

Michelle Martin contributed to this story.

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