Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Friday, October 04, 2024
The Pope comes to Iowa. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. The 57th Chevrolet is here. Sweet, smooth and sassy. Your road trips will never be the same. When you're behind the wheel of an American legend, Camcourageus is giving you the chance to win a 57 Chevy Bel Air Sportgoop. This is the car people turn their heads for. Get your raffle tickets now at camcourageus.org. Learn more and get your raffle tickets now for a chance to glide down the road in a classic 57 Chevy. Visit camcourageus.org. In 1979, the new Pope, John Paul II, announced a trip to the United States, including an address before the United Nations in New York. But true role farmer Joe Hayes thought it was important for the Pope to visit the Midwest. So he hand-wrote a two-page letter to the pontiff, personally inviting him to visit rural America, the heartland and breadbasket of our nation, while on his tour. To his surprise, he received a reply from the Vatican. The Pope had accepted his invitation and added a stop in Iowa. The crowd began to gather the day before and bus trips of the faithful flock to living history farms to hear the Pope deliver his homily from a simple white oak altar. No event in Iowa history had ever drawn as many people to one place, more than 350,000 by most estimates. The Pope arrived by helicopter and promptly kneeled and kissed the ground. He blessed farmers as stewards of the land and urged them to help end famine in the world. To all of you who are farmers and all who are associated with agricultural production, I want to say this, the Church highly esteemed you all. By the time of his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II had led the Catholic Church for nearly 27 years, and since has been elevated to St.Hoode. But when Iowan saw him, he had not even been pontiff for a full year. It was a bright and crisp afternoon, when 350,000 saw the Pope officiate an outdoor mass near Des Moines, on this date in 1979. And that's Iowa Almanac for October 4th, there's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until Monday, I'm Jeff Stein.