The Pope At 161st & River
(April 20, Bronx, NY) On a plot of Bermuda blue grass sod, as incongruous in the South Bronx as any site, the Pope came to celebrate mass. In the “House that Ruth Built”, His Eminence, Pope Benedict said mass before thousands in attendance and millions viewing on television. Of all the prime real estate, remarkable settings and impressive venues across these United States, the Pope came to the “Boogie Down Bronx” and with him his message of hope, forgiveness and humility.
Arguably, (historically) one of the most notorious urban neighborhoods in America, the Bronx was a location chosen by The Vatican for the Pope to celebrate Mass. Other Pope’s have been here before; Yankee Stadium is a Basilica several times over. In what has long been considered a cathedral of baseball excellence, history, mystique and sustained superiority, in its final season as home to all of that and more, this venerable, revered sporting ground had yet another honor bestowed on her hollowed turf today.
The morning bloomed cloudy, cool and rainy. make of it what you will but, by the time the Pontiff hit the field, the sun had parted the weeping clouds. An atmospheric feat attributable heretofore only to the likes of Gehrig, DiMaggio, Maris and Munson, the Lord was peering down from on high closely on The Bronx.
If the last shall be first; if the meek will inherit the earth; if the lowliest among us shall be held high, well, perhaps everyone who has ever called The Bronx home has a place in heaven.
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