Pope's funeral attended by
Disciples of Christ leader

By Sean Gallagher

Rev. Dr. Robert K. Welsh is the president of the Council on Christian Unity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a denomination based in Indianapolis. He served as its official representative at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

The event was significant for Rev. Dr. Welsh as he has been involved in the ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Disciples of Christ since it began in 1977, the year before Karol Wojtyla was elected bishop of Rome.

Rev. Dr. Welsh met the Holy Father on four occasions, the first time in 1978 and the last being just last year.

“In each meeting, I was moved by the Holy Father’s ability to connect with each individual present in a pastoral and personal way,” he said. “In 1978, I was struck by how vigorous he appeared in stature. By 2004, even in his weakness, he communicated a quiet strength, clearly grounded in his faith.”

When he learned of the pope’s death, he was attending a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, where a member of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity was also present. An invitation to the funeral was immediately given to him.

Rev. Dr. Welsh arrived in Rome the day before the funeral. Millions of others had already arrived before him. He was able to witness this enormous gathering of people from around the world as he arrived for the funeral Mass.

“I was most impressed by the large number of young people who were in the crowds that had gathered at St. Peter’s,” he said. “The pope clearly touched a positive nerve in his relation to the youth in offering them hope and meaning in the midst of so much despair and confusion in our world today.”

At the funeral, Rev. Dr. Welsh was seated approximately 50 feet from the Holy Father’s casket, directly across from President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush and in the same row as other Christian leaders from around the world, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the General Secretaries of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Conference and the World Council of Churches.

Being present among so many religious figures and leaders of governments from around the world was striking to Rev. Dr. Welsh, who described the gathering as “probably the largest gathering of secular and religious leaders ever assembled.”

Despite the grand meeting of so many men and women of power in one small place, his attention was soon drawn to the Holy Father’s casket and especially to the book of the Gospels placed on top of it.

The wind rushing through St. Peter’s Square that day and quickly turning the pages of that book was evocative for him.

“My impression, even then, was [of] the wind of the Holy Spirit that continues to blow, even at such a time as this … ,” Rev. Dr. Welsh said.

As the liturgy progressed, he noticed something he felt was quite appropriate for a gathering of people whose purpose was to pay respect to Pope John Paul. It was the sign of peace when, right across from him, so many leaders of nations turned to each other and shared a sign of Christ’s peace with each other.

Rev. Dr. Welsh described this moment as “a symbol of the power of Christ, the Prince of Peace, to work even in John Paul II’s death for healing and overcoming division in the world.”

Toward the end of the funeral, his focus turned from the religious and governmental leaders around him to the hundreds of thousands of admirers of the pope ­gathered in St. Peter’s Square behind him and in the Via del Conciliazione, which led out of it toward the Tiber River.

“One could not help but hear the chanting, from all over St. Peter’s Square and beyond,” Rev. Dr. Welsh said. “And there were signs everywhere declaring Santo Subito [sainthood immediately]. It was, for me, the true blessing of the people, the voice of the people, being declared.”

He saw a proper salute to the people when the pope’s casket, as it was being carried to its internment, was lifted up by the pallbearers for all to see, a moment which he described as “just like John Paul II would have done himself in bidding farewell to those crowds who came to greet him wherever he traveled throughout his papacy.”

After the conclusion of the pope’s funeral, Rev. Dr. Welsh was able to discern deep meaning in it for himself and the world.

“I came away from the funeral amazed not only by the massive crowd, and the grandeur of the Mass itself,” he said, “but by the realization that this pope was truly beloved by so many people: young and old alike, from all continents, all faiths, all political positions, and yes, the rich and especially the poor. Pope John Paul II, in his death as in his life, was an icon of hope for us all.” †