Charlotte priest recalls last pope visit to U.S.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Priest Frank O'Rourke can't get enough of watching the U.S. visit of Pope Francis on TV.
 
The priest of St. Gabriel Catholic Church recalls another papal visit 28 years ago when Pope John Paul II visited Columbia, South Carolina, and O'Rourke was there.

Special Section: Pope visit to the U.S.
 
"There was just a lot of excitement and joy," O'Rourke said. "I would say it's very similar to what I'm experiencing with Pope Francis."
 
O'Rourke spoke with Eyewitness News reporter Jim Bradley, who also interviewed him in 1987 as they prepared to attend John Paul's visit.
 
O'Rourke and Bradley flew to Miami where the pope was scheduled to hold an outdoor Mass. Unfortunately, the Mass was canceled halfway through because of a storm.
 
O'Rourke flew back to Charlotte and boarded Chopper 9, bound for Columbia where another Eyewitness News crew was set up to cover the pope's visit there.
 
"I remember the excitement," O'Rourke said. "I remember the setting WSOC created in the bleachers, some type of studio."
 
O'Rourke was a commentator, along with anchors Bill Walker and Meg McDonald.
 
Nearly three decades later, O'Rourke's hair has turned gray, but his belief in the power of a pope's visit hasn't diminished.
 
"It's just marvelous watching it unfold there on the White House lawn. It certainly infuses hope. It infuses possibility. I hope this isn't just a one day or a couple-day opportunity, but that it will change us. Change all of us."
 
O'Rourke is hoping to see Pope Francis on this trip just as he did Pope John Paul all those years ago.  He's planning to fly to Philadelphia on Sunday to take part with hundreds of other priests in an outdoor Mass with the pope.

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