Priest for archdiocese participates
in papal funeral
By Sean Gallagher
Father Stanley Pondo has been a witness to history.
A priest for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, who is studying canon law in Rome, Father Pondo was present in St. Peter’s Square when Pope John Paul II died and, nearly a week later, for the pontiff’s funeral.
In an interview with The Criterion, he spoke about his experience of the liturgy, where he sat in the section for clergy approximately 100 feet from the pope’s casket.
Given the millions that streamed into Rome for the funeral, simply being able to be in St. Peter’s Square was a blessing that Father Pondo “did not dare hope or think” that he would receive.
Living in the midst of the city where people from all over the world were coming for the funeral was itself unprecedented for this priest who has now lived in Rome for nearly three years and seen his fair share of large events.
“The sheer number of people who came to pay their respects for the Holy Father was overwhelming,” Father Pondo said. “I was here for Mother Teresa’s beatification and St. Jose Maria Escrivá’s canonization, and the crowds for the Holy Father’s funeral dwarfed either of those two events. I can honestly say that I have seen nothing like it in my lifetime.”
The day before the funeral, the house of studies where he and other priests reside received 30 tickets for seating in the clergy section. But because there were more than that living there, a lottery was set up to determine who would receive them.
After receiving a ticket, Father Pondo arrived in the square several hours before the funeral began in anticipation of the large crowds and strict security.
When he discovered how close he would be sitting to where the Holy Father’s casket would be placed, he was shocked.
“I was stunned that we were so close,” Father Pondo said. “I hadn’t dared even hope to be so near.”
As the international crowd grew and grew and at the start of the Mass when cardinals from all over the world processed out together, Father Pondo was struck by how the gathering was a sign of the unity and universality of the Church.
“Being there with people from so many countries, seeing the flags being waved, but knowing that we were all members of one Church, one body, was very moving,” he said. “I was especially moved when the patriarchs, metropolitans and major archbishops of the oriental Churches … offered prayers from the Eastern Rite for the Holy Father. It really gave me a sense of the unity of the Church.”
Although he noted he was focused on the prayers of the liturgy, Father Pondo said that the large number of leaders of governments present for the funeral impressed him.
“I saw this as testimony to the importance of the Holy Father as a beacon of hope and morality in the world whose influence extended far beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church,” he said.
But toward the end of the liturgy, it was not the voices of those who lead peoples and nations that made themselves heard, but that of ordinary people from around the world who praised the holiness of the late pope.
“I did hear the chant santo subito, which means ‘saint immediately,’ ” Father Pondo said. “I personally believe that the Holy Father is with Christ in heaven, and I look forward to the day when the Church acclaims him a saint.”
One of the most poignant moments for Father Pondo came when the pallbearers, carrying the casket and the mortal remains of Pope John Paul II out of St. Peter’s Square at the end of the public portion of the liturgy, paused and lifted up the casket for the vast crowd to see for the last time.
“It was a moment for us to say goodbye to a man who had been a father to us,” he said. “We applauded and said farewell to the Holy Father.”
Pope John Paul II was like family for Father Pondo in a number of ways. Born into a family with a strong Polish background residing in northwestern Indiana, he recalled how his mother called him when he was a freshman at DePauw University in 1978 to tell him of the election of a Polish pope.
“She was ecstatic as were all of my relatives and the other Poles from East Chicago,” he said. “I shared their pride and excitement. The fact that the Holy Father has proven to be one of the greatest popes in the history of the Church has made me even more proud of our shared heritage.”
Father Pondo said that later on he looked to Pope John Paul for inspiration in his own vocational discernment and priestly formation.
“His call, ‘Be not afraid,’ inspired me to know … that God could lift me past my own limitations to make me a good priest,” he said. “The Holy Father and Mother Teresa of Calcutta were both willing to be used by God in whatever way he had chosen, and their example has inspired me to try to do the same.”
Now that the mortal remains of Pope John Paul II have been laid to rest, Father Pondo is focusing his prayer on the cardinal electors—many of whom stood before him during the pontiff’s funeral—who have been charged to choose the next pope.
“I have been most conscious of the tremendous burden and responsibility that falls on the cardinals,” he said. “I have been praying for them, that they will find solace and wisdom in the Holy Spirit as they make what will be the most important decision that any of them will ever make.”
Having been a witness to two historic events in St. Peter’s Square over the past two weeks, Father Pondo said he hopes to be there for one more: when white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the name of the new pope is announced to the world. †