After a glorious weekend of events swirling around the historic two-day visit by Pope Francis to Philadelphia, there was one item that left a bad taste in my mouth.
It didn't have anything to do with security, a "traffic box," lower than expected attendance, or a bust for business.
At the end of the day on Sunday, as Pope Francis prepared to board his plane and depart for Rome, I have to admit I felt bad for the Cardinal O'Hara Band.
Maybe I'm making too much of this, but it seems to be they got short-shrift during the farewell ceremonies at the airport.
For some reason, officials felt the need to hold still one more reception and long line of well-wishers to see the pope off. Mayor Michael Nutter was there, as was Vice President Joe Biden and his wife. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady was on hand, and even managed to "confess" to the pontiff that, yes indeed it was him who absconded with the pope's water glass after his historic address to a joint meeting of Congress. There were various and sundry World Meeting of Families folks and a bunch of other VIPs.
In the meantime, the kids from Cardinal O'Hara were out on the tarmac, providing the musical backdrop for the occasion. As darkness descended on the airport, they seemed relegated to obscurity.
Compare this to the role played by the Bishop Shanahan Band for the pope's arrival. They had the good fortune of getting the morning shift. They were on hand when Pope Francis arrived from New York City bright and early Saturday morning. The moment was made even more dramatic when the pope stopped his Fiat so he could get out and embrace the son of the Shanahan band director, who is confined to a wheelchair as he struggles with cerebral palsy. I still think it was the single best highlight of the weekend.
There was no such papal interaction for the kids from O'Hara. After the reception in the hangar, Pope Francis made his way out to his plane, where still one more greeting line formed to see him off.
That's one of the reasons I wanted to have a reporter check back with the O'Hara kids to get their reaction to the honor of playing for the pontiff. You can read the story here.
As you might expect, they took it in stride.
"They were so happy to just be there and be part of the atmosphere, to get all the attention and have their friends and family see them on TV," said O'Hara band director Nick Corvino.
They did get a visit from Donna Crilley Farrell, the executive director of the World Meeting of Families, and herself a Springfield reisdent and O'Hara alum.
"It was such an honor to even be invited," Corvino added.
I admire that attitude. Maybe I'm just more in tune to it since they are all Delco kids. I just wanted to be surer the band members from O'Hara were not an afterthought.
Well done, kids.
Comments