My story is the following .
In the summer of 2003, Pope John Paul II,came to Toronto, Canada,for a pastoral visit. There were close to one million people that had gathered in a nearby park to hear his sermon. He was scheduled to be there for several days. It was a very hot summer,packed with thousands of worshippers.
I got a call to lead a group of students who wanted to see the Pope. I thought this would be an easy tour. Get everyone together,and just bring them as close as I could to where the Pope was to say mass.
The coach arrived at the hotel,and I was there to greet them. The first young person got off,and there was an oxygen tank,that accompanied this young girl. The second person got off,and he was in a wheelchair,along with his nurse. I soon learned that on this coach there were 20 children,many of them with terminal illnesses,accompanied by their parents,nurses,and a doctor. The head of this group was a Franciscan brother,who had brought them all the way from Pittsburgh,PA. I was totally unprepared for this group ! I had no idea ,that this was going to happen. I called the student agency,and asked them ,what should I do with this group. Following our schedule,was out of the question. I feared for the precarious health,that these kids had,and travelling anywhere seemed like an impossible adventure.
This is where fate came in,and helped provide a miracle. The driver that had been reserved for me,was well known in the industry,and had many years of experience. I asked him ,if it would be possible,for him to get carte blanche from his company,so that we could rework the schedule. This is what we did. One day we brought them to a park,another day we brought them to see some horses,and every day we did something different with them Many of these young kids had never been outside their institution,into the real world. On the last day I arranged that they could see the Pope on a wide screen TV,in a room that had been requested ,inside the hotel.
This to me would be the tour that I am most proud of,because a potential disaster,was turned into a great experience for these kids,but mostly,it made me realize how precious life is. So this is a tour that still inspires me today,and makes me proud of the work that I do.
Frank Tarantino