By Joe Winter
Catholic Herald correspondent

Two men from Hudson attend World Youth Day

HUDSON -- When Nick Frase recalls the intensity of his trip to Germany for World Youth Day, in which he got within a body's length of Pope Benedict XVI, he uses words such as "crazy" and "nuts."

Frase and Peter Gagliardi, who are members St. Patrick Parish in Hudson, made the trek, which brought them to the Cologne area for almost a week, by teaming up with a group from New York.

The men not only saw what's come to be known as the popemobile as it passed, but got within six feet of Benedict, who smiled and made prolonged eye contact.

"He turned right to us," Frase said, adding the pontiff "was shorter than I expected."

The men earlier had tickets for a dinner cruise on the Rhine River, and then used a compass to meander due west and camp out next to a wall where the pope was expected to pass.

Some people waited for four hours to see Benedict, and Frase recalled wondering if all this would be worth the wait, but added that after picking up on the pope's gaze, it definitely was.

Gagliardi said there were false alarms, such as when a motorcycle passed, which caused people to stand up and crowd toward the fences, but eventually the pope showed up.

"What an amazing privilege," Frase said, noting that a few years ago, Benedict was a principle author of the church's new catechism. "And the theology," Frase said with a glow, adding that the pontiff proved he is deserving of being Peter through apostolic succession.

Frase said Benedict "looked happy and energized," being around young people in his home country, rather than the oldsters typical of the Vatican.

What Frase thought was the most interesting about the event were the adoration chapels, many of which featured the chance to make confessions, that seemed to be on almost every street-corner. "You would (exit a chapel) and often there would be a band playing," Frase said.

Gagliardi added that there also were many churches. "You go into their churches and there are often eight great altars. Here you'll find just one great altar," Frase said.

He also was amazed by the number of monks and nuns walking down the street in their habits. They frequented not only monasteries, but also pubs. "That showed another side of them," Frase said.

Frase, who also was impressed by the main World Youth Day Mass, said it was good to see "the universality of the whole event," and that it was especially evident when people from many countries knelt as one for the consecration. "They had a common language that is our faith," Frase said.

The two local men got tickets and passes for free subway use all over the area so they could do some sightseeing, which included things such as the area's vineyards. The full slate of activities was spread all around more than in previous World Youth Days.

Gagliardi and Frase flew to New York via Detroit so they could join other "sub-groups" of churches, which banded together to save costs (and for other reasons) and to travel to Germany with Belmont Tours. Some of the groups were from distant places such as Staten Island and the Bronx, N.Y.

The tour company arranged their hotel and bus service during their trek, which included six days in Germany.

It didn't all go smoothly, at least at first. Frase lost his passport at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and spent a day stressing out about whether he'd be able to go to Germany at all. "We found you can't get a new passport in just a day," he said, especially in the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombings.

"I didn't want Peter to have to go alone, and the tickets are not refundable," Frase said, adding that he didn't immediately realize the passport was missing. It turned out to be a good thing that they arrived in New York two days in advance, since after about a day, at 10 p.m., the passport turned up in the lost-and-found bin at the airport.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2005