VOA常速英语2008年-Followers Recall 1979 Papal Visit to Washington

By George Dwyer
Washington
09 April 2008
 

Next week (15-20 April 2008), Pope Benedict XVI makes his first official visit to the United States. He is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House, deliver an address at the United Nations, and celebrate mass at outdoor stadiums in New York and Washington. The Pope will also visit The Catholic University of America; something his predecessor¹, Pope John Paul II, did on his first trip to the United States as well. VOA's George Dwyer recently spoke² with several people about their memories of that historic visit.

The late Pope John Paul II paraded through the streets of Washington on his first visit to the United States as pope in October 1979.

"I remember 1979 as if it were yesterday. It is one of those defining moments in your life where you can say 'I know where I was, I know what I was doing," Frank Persico said. He is Vice³ President for University Relations at The Catholic University of America.  28 years ago he was a recent graduate, chosen to serve as an usher⁴ during the Pope's visit.

Persico spoke about that experience in a film produced by the University: "I had the great privilege of working inside the Crowe Center, which was the old gym at the time, which had been transformed into this beautiful arena⁵ for the Pope to be there. And I had the opportunity to stand up front and to direct some of the dignitaries to their seats."

Persico and others in the film speak of the Pope as a man of warmth and tremendous personal magnetism⁶.

"There were just hundreds and hundreds of University students on the steps of the Basilica waiting to see the Pope, huge cheers," recalls Craig Parks, "and he was a very dynamic person and public, and he kind of waded⁷ into the crowd."

"And of course I had students, I had students that were Catholic, non-Catholic, Jewish," recalls Elaine Walter. "It was the same experience for all of them. It was just a tremendous sense that overcame all of us."

"I think that one of the things that was most loved about John Paul II was the fact that he was willing to get out and be with the people," Persico said. "Everybody wanted to be around him, and he gained his energy from the crowds, and he took his spirit from the crowds."

Less than two years after the Pope's visit to Washington, he was wounded in an assassination⁸ attempt at the Vatican. And though he recovered, his access to the crowds he so enjoyed would never be quite the same again.

John Paul's papacy would continue for another quarter of a century after the shooting. He traveled the world promoting peace and reconciliation⁹, and some historians even credit him with influencing the fall of Communism.  In 2005, he died after years of failing health.

Persico believes the signs of what he would come to accomplish as Pope were clear as far back as 1979.  "He was able to put a stamp on the papacy right from the beginning and move us forward into the whole new changing world that we are obviously in today," says Persico.

For those who were here to experience it, those memories remain indelible.

1 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

5 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

6 magnetism   

n.磁性，吸引力，磁学

参考例句：

• We know about magnetism by the way magnets act.我们通过磁铁的作用知道磁性是怎么一回事。
• His success showed his magnetism of courage and devotion.他的成功表现了他的胆量和热诚的魅力。

7 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

8 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。