A memorable first photo credit

Coming into work on this beautiful 65-degree morning, I knew it was going to be a long day. My boss had scheduled me to be here for 12 hours — sitting at a desk under Secret Service lockdown and uploading pictures that other people got to take.
The Secret Service had already offered to take a [...]

Sikh, and ye shall find

Among the thousands witnessing the April 16 welcoming ceremony for Pope Benedict XVI on the South Lawn of the White House, conspicuous in their brightly colored turbans were two Sikhs.
A mild hubbub during papal visit preparations resulted in U.S. Sikh leaders declining an invitation to take part in the April 17 meeting between Pope Benedict [...]

Rally ’round the flag

In a grassy area of the Vatican nunciature just a bit north of the building lay a small Vatican flag, discarded for no apparent reason. A few minutes after it was detected, it was claimed by Roby Chavez, a reporter for WTTG-TV, the Fox network’s Washington outlet.
“I know, I know,” Chavez said, expecting a reproving [...]

Battle of the bands

While waiting for Pope Benedict XVI to make his appearance outside the Vatican Embassy April 16, two choirs engaged in a friendly version of the old-fashioned “battle of the bands.”
In one corner: the gospel choir from Assumption Parish in Washington. About 20 choir members, most of them decked out in burgundy sweaters, sang spirituals and [...]

A tale of two papal encounters

I’ve now had two first encounters with popes at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The first time was a whole lot less complicated.
In October 1979 I was a college student, working for the semester as a press intern in the Senate. My mom’s cousin Mary was a nurse stationed at Andrews; she invited me [...]

Text of pope to U.S. bishops

Here is the prepared text as released by the Vatican of Pope Benedict’s address to the U.S. bishops this evening:
Dear Brother Bishops,
It gives me great joy to greet you today, at the start of my visit to this country, and I thank Cardinal George for the gracious words he has addressed to me on your [...]

Text of Cardinal George at basilica

The prepared remarks of Cardinal Francis George to Pope Benedict before the papal address to the U.S. bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington:
Welcome, Holy Father, to this Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Mary Immaculate is the patroness of our country, and we thank you for [...]

Meeting a practical need

Pedestrians walking along Washington’s Michigan Avenue early this morning snapped photos of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with the U.S. bishops late this afternoon.  Barriers lined the pope’s motorcade route, and U.S., Vatican and District of Columbia flags hung from lightpoles and fluttered in the [...]

Crowds gathering to greet pope

The Washington weather seems tailor-made for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the nation’s capital. Under a clear blue sky, on the grounds of The Catholic University of America, just east of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, crowds are beginning to form to see the pope when he passes by in [...]

More birthday …

Multiple choruses of “Happy Birthday” mark the pope’s 81st
By Carol Zimmermann
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — At 5:21 a.m., the disc jockey on a country music radio station in Fredericksburg, Va. — 50 miles south of Washington — invited listeners to join her in singing “Happy Birthday” to Pope Benedict XVI.
On the South Lawn of [...]