Members of the UCLA community have made travel plans spanning
thousands of miles in recent days to be at close proximity with
Pope John Paul II at his final resting place.
Federiqkoe DiBritto, a Catholic pastor who also works in the
David Geffen School of Medicine, is flying to Rome this week and is
bringing a family photograph of his brother, who died of AIDS in
1993, to be blessed by the cardinals there.
“We too have lost someone that means very much to
us,” he said.
DiBritto is traveling to the Vatican on Wednesday with more than
100 members of the Missionary Fathers of the Holy Spirit, a
Catholic organization, and said he hopes to renew his faith through
remembering and celebrating the pope’s life. He plans to
participate in the fifth of 84 masses being held to honor each year
of the pope’s life.
“I see it as an opportunity for renewal … an opportunity
to come to Rome again and really feel and be with the roots of our
church,” said DiBritto, executive director of development and
patient relations for the medical center’s digestive diseases
division. (He is quick to say his views do not represent those of
the medical school.)
Liz Goodwin, a second-year philosophy student, just returned to
the United States last week after traveling to see John Paul over
Easter weekend in what would be some of his last days of life.
She was there for a meeting of international college students to
talk about key issues facing the world. But the highlight of the
trip was seeing the pope in St. Peter’s Square, an experience
she struggled to find words to describe.
“Just seeing him was amazing,” she said. “You
can just feel his peace, the whole crowd … even though there was
a lot of noise, it just filled you with peace to see
him.”
Goodwin, who had seen John Paul twice before, said seeing the
pope in person allowed a connection not possible through seeing him
on TV. “His mere physical presence really helped me to know
him better … helped me to be more connected to the universal
church through him,” she said, adding, “I’m so
happy that my friends and I were able to see him one more time
before he passed on.”
DiBritto also hopes to bring back his experiences and offer them
to the Los Angeles community. “I would hope that I can come
back to UCLA and be able to share that experience with those who
want to talk to me,” he said.”In my mind, I want to
come back with a renewed fresh commitment to ensure all people are
represented and cared for.”
Both said they found John Paul to have had profound influences
on their lives. “His commitment to the people, his commitment
to those who are suffering, specifically those who are living lives
of abandonment … I felt Pope John Paul was the voice of the
people,” DiBritto said. “I have served my life as John
Paul has served his life.”
Goodwin said that seeing the pope “suffering
joyfully” made her realize “there’s so many
little things that annoy me, little pains … throughout my day
that I can suffer through joyfully like him.”
Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, who is in Rome to select the
next pope, also described being inspired by the late pope’s
suffering.
“The world has watched as the once vital and vigorous
traveling pope has been diminished by the effects of aging and
illness,” Mahony said in a statement.
“Even in his diminishment and dying, our Holy Father
offered himself as a gift for the church and the world, emptying
himself, pouring himself out before us.”
With reports from Bruin wire services.