THE PAPAL VISIT : Pope’s Miami Mass Cut Short by Storm

“Those who have endurance we call blessed,” the Bible says.

And so it came to pass here Friday.

The warmest moment of a storm-drenched day fell on the relative handful of souls who refused to leave Tamiami Park after the first public Mass of Pope John Paul II’s American visit was halted by lightning.

Amid rain and thunder, almost everyone in the audience of 230,000 departed soon after Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy announced that the Mass was being suspended after half an hour because of concerns for their safety. It was believed to be the first time the Pope had had a Mass interrupted in mid-service by the weather since he began traveling in 1979.

Key Elements Missing

Spectators left enormously disappointed. The Pope had not reached the principal parts of the Mass: the Communion, in which bread and wine symbolic of Christ’s body and blood are distributed, and the final blessing of the audience.

That, after all, was why Jorge Rodriguez had come, carrying a bucket half-filled with dirt and topped with a lighted candle.

The dirt was from the ground-breaking ceremony for a new church. Rodriguez and his fellow parishioners, several of whom carried their own buckets of dirt, had wanted the Pope to bless the site itself, but this way would have to do.

“If he can’t go there, we’ll bring the soil here,” Rodriguez said.

The day had started off sunny and hot. Thousands of people who entered the park Thursday and camped out overnight--after lining up outside the closed gates as early as 8 that morning--were worried more about leg cramps and sunburn than rain. But by mid-morning dark clouds dominated the sky. By the time the Pope arrived and began his tour of the area in the “Popemobile,” it began to sprinkle. Soon it began to pour.

“His windows are fogging up,” said one woman as the odd-looking vehicle passed by.

The rain came down harder. The Pope, speaking from a three-story altar erected under sail-like canopies, was protected by two priests holding umbrellas.

Enthusiastic Crowd

“Let us pray,” he intoned, only to be greeted by a tremendous crash of thunder. Realizing the source of the disturbance, he smiled up at the clouds and returned to his meditation.

The crowd was undaunted. Despite the increasingly heavy rain, its members stood motionless, hanging on to the Pope’s every word and cheering him on when his remarks were briefly interrupted by the rain.

“No, don’t stop,” yelled Victor Cabanas, 21, who’d spent the night at the grassy field with a group of friends to get a good seat.

Finally, however, it was too much. On orders of the Secret Service, the Mass was stopped. Reluctantly, the Pope retreated to a sacristy behind the altar, where he celebrated the Eucharist with bishops and cardinals. Most of the crowd dispersed, but a few thousand could not bear to leave.

As others walked by him, David Welch, a telephone company employee, drenched to the skin and looking for a dry match to light his cigarette, said he was prepared to stay, no matter what.

“I was here to hear the Pope’s homily, lightning, thunder or whatever,” he said. “If we had to suffer a little, it’s nothing like Christ went through.”

The Pope remained secluded. The people stayed.

And then, after an hour, he returned to the altar.

The faithful cheered, and as they did thousands more people streamed back from the gates of the park.

“I cannot express the admiration to everyone,” the Pope told them, “but to you I am expressing this admiration. I come to you to offer my blessing.”

He then blessed the crowd in Latin and bid adieu, first in English, then in Spanish.

“Adios, muchas gracias, “ he concluded.

“Viva Papa!” chanted back the crowd.

Ana Baldison, 28, wept as the Pope left and tried to explain why she had stayed.

“I am very Catholic, and he is a saint,” she said. “I wanted to touch him.”