I attended the Papal Mass at Bird’s Hill Park September 16 1984 in the company of my friend, colleague, mentor, Steve Prystupa, Chairperson of Multiculturism at the Manitoba Museum. I was photographing the event on the speculation that we would possibly use the photographs in the future. Steve was there to collect some of the souvenir/artifacts and to celebrate the Papal Mass. We even brought back some of the cardboard seats that were sold on site.
We parked in North Kildonan, checked out the souvenir stand and boarded a bus to the site in Bird’s Hill park. There were only about 10 people on our bus. It was later reported that attendance was far less than anticipated.
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4 Responses
My father in law was a Knights of Columbus volunteer which meant we were able to camp there the night before. My mother sang in the massive choir. Yes the crowds were smaller than anticipated. I figured they made too muc effort to warn people of three hour drives from Winnipeg, parking mayhem etc. A lot of people simply chose to stay home and watch it on TV. In a word, the overhype scared a lot of people away.
Thanks Phillippe …
My brother and I biked there from North Kildonan. We would have been roughly the same age as my boys are now…13 and 11. It was a long way to go for something we didn’t understand. We stood in our assigned corral and shrugged when it was all done. Fortunately my dad drove up in his 78 Rabbit with a roof rack, so we didn’t have to bike back. I still have my souvenir program, God knows why. Thanks for sharing this…gave me a nice reminiscence.
Thanks Glen… what a great story and a great dad… Big thumbs up to 11 and 13 yr. old you’se for making the trip.