How can the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix possibly mark the 25th anniversary in 2012 of Pope John Paul IIs historic visit to the Valley in 1987? How can it outdo what it did Saturday night for the 20th anniversary celebration at the new Phoenix Convention Center?The classy event, on the theme, An Encounter with Christ, drew almost 1,000 people, first for a Mass with standing-room-only at St. Marys Basilica, then with the three-hour center in the third-floor ballroom of the center. The event conjured memories of the Holy Fathers 24 hours in the Valley and showcased his life and 26-year papacy. For those of us who were around for the popes visit to Phoenix and Tempe Sept. 14-15, 1987, it was a homecoming event. There they were: The then-Bishop Thomas OBrien who years before had begun persevering for a Phoenix stop on any U.S. tour by the pope; Monsignor John McMahon, the clergyman who oversaw the day-to-day logistics of several dozen committees and what would be about 6,000 volunteers; Harvey Newquist, the layman who represented Phoenix on the national team of city visit coordinators; and Emmett White, now wheelchair-bound, the Gila River Indian Community holy man, who had blessed the pope at Veterans Memorial Coliseum with smoke and feather.Bishop Thomas Olmsted delivered a powerful reflection on the pope for whom he worked for nearly a decade while in Rome in the 1970s and 1980s. He told how after the pope was wounded by a would-be assassin in 1981, Olmsted was assigned to minister to two American women who had to be treated for wounds from the same fusillade of bullets in St. Peters Square. And the bishop told how his doctor was also the cardiologist who treated the pope a female doctor who retained and displayed the blood-stained garments of the pope as evidence of a man spared by God for 23 more years of life on earth.I was privileged to sit at a table with the emcee for the night, Joe Garagiola Sr., the ageless, funnyman baseball announcer, ex-Today Show personality and much more. He was surrounded by six nuns from St. Peters Indian Mission on the Gila Indian Reservation, where they teach at the Catholic school. Called the Awesome Fox on the reservation, Garagiola has worked tirelessly to bring resources to that school, an effort that earned him the coveted Hon Kachina Award several years ago. He used his wit to tell Catholic boyhood stories while growing up in St. Louis.The crowd was deeply moved by a presentation by Laurie Walsh. She and her husband had moved from Montana to the Valley in August 1987, a month before the papal visit. She told how she had come from a family where alcoholism was common and had herself been a troubled, heavy drinker for 15 years. Two of her several car accidents were fairly serious, but only she was injured. Age 30 when she moved to Arizona, Walsh had held 36 jobs while an alcoholic. She said she couldnt find anything that would get her to quit drinking.Once in Arizona, she joined St. Maria Gorettis Parish in Scottsdale. We heard the pope was coming to town, she said. We decided we wanted to see him because it was such a big event. With their names on the bottom of a list, they were resigned to watch the Papal Mass at Sun Devil Stadium the night of Sept. 14 on television. But a few days before the visit, the parish office informed them they had tickets. When the Walshes arrived that night at the stadium, we walked in and found ourselves escorted to the front, under the papal cross behind the wheel chairs. That itself, she said, was a miracle. When the pope came down to bless the people in the wheel chairs, we were right behind them and we felt the blessing! Walsh said. It seemed like the light softened, and everything slowed into slow motion at that moment when he was blessing everyone, she said. Even her husband experienced it, Walsh said.She likened the experience to walking through a forest and entering a clearing to behold a fawn lying in the sunlight. She realized instantly that the moment was precious and had never experienced anything like that before.The most amazing thing happened to me, Walsh said. From that day forward, up to the present day, I have never found it necessary to take another drink of alcohol. The urge left me completely that night, and the date of my sobriety is 9-14-1987.So she said she, too, was celebrating a 20th anniversary milestone. She immediately joined Alcoholics Anonymous. That led her to get his masters degree and also to become a licensed substance abuse counselor. Walsh also has now held the same job for 17 years. I really do understand the meaning of serenity. It is what God grants us, she said. I had never been able to fully express what had happened that changed my life in that blessing by the pope, she said. Walsh said her husband, who was Lutheran at the time, decided that night that he needed to become a Catholic, which he did. He went through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults classes and became a member. Today he belongs to the Catholic mens organization, the Knights of Columbus. Today Walsh shares her story to others. I dont charge for my services, but I do accept all of the blessings that come to me when I share my recovery with people.It was a remarkable night. Congratulations to Anne and John Wuycheck for co-chairing and organizing the evening of remembrance of the rare visit of the Vicar of Christ.BEYOND BELIEF NOTE: At midday Sunday, this blog registered its 100,000th hit by readers. Since I began writing it in April 2006, This marks my 257th commentary for the Beyond Belief blog. Thanks, readers, for checking in and for sharing your comments and insights.

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