Vic Kolenc

El Paso Times

About 28,000 people in El Paso's Sun Bowl cheered when Pope Francis talked to them during his televised Mass from Juárez where another 200,000-plus people attended.

"Thank you brothers and sisters in El Paso," Pope Francis said in his homily.

It may be the largest binational Mass ever celebrated, said Father Fabian Marquez, pastor of El Buen Pastor Catholic Church in Sparks, an El Paso colonia, and an emcee at the El Paso Diocese event.

"There have been many Masses on the border, but nothing like this," Marquez said.

The pope blessed El Paso in his homily, when he gave the final blessing at the end of the Mass, and when he blessed refugees and others at a border levee near the Juárez Mass site, Marquez said.

The virtual blessings counted as much as if the people in the Sun Bowl had been in Juárez, he said. The pope celebrated Mass about two miles to the south of the stadium, just across Interstate 10 and the parched Rio Grande.

Elvia Campos, 50, said the pope's words made her cry.

"It's making many ideas in my head. What can I do to help others," the East El Paso woman said as she and a friend held a banner with a colorful likeness of the Virgin of Guadalupe. A banner she made.

About 30,000 tickets were sold and another 5,000 given away for the event at the 50,000-plus Sun Bowl stadium. Sun Bowl officials estimated about 28,000 attended the event staged by the El Paso Diocese, said Trey Salinas, spokesman for the Catholic Extension, a sponsor of the event billed as "Two Nations, One Faith."

A sold out stadium had been hoped for by some officials, but Salinas said organizers were "very pleased with the turnout."

Pat and Victor Vargas said they were excited to be at the Sun Bowl Mass telecast. The El Paso couple had made the trip to see the pope in Philadelphia in September. But transportation difficulties prevented them from seeing most of the Mass.

"This is our chance. We waited and waited for this, and we are so excited," Pat Vargas said. The couple wore white shirts with "We Love Pope Francis" emblazoned across the front. They bought them at an El Paso religious articles store.

"We thought about going to Juárez. But we remembered Philadelphia" and all the problems, Pat Vagas said.

"You can feel the electricity" even before the Mass begins, she said.

The crowd cheered several times when the binational telecast showed the Sun Bowl. But the crowd was silent during much of the Mass and most people intently listened as the pope delivered his homily.

Rosemary Ortega, 48, an East El Paso teacher, said the pope's televised Mass was "emotional and moving."

"It (pope"s homily) brought tears to my eyes," she said. His message to help those in need struck a chord, she said.

Ortega and her son, Abel Jaquez, 19, went to the Sun Bowl because they are afraid to cross into Juárez because of the drug-related violence that occurred there in recent years, she said.

"This is the closest we could get to the pope. It's awesome to be here," she said.

Missionary of peace comes to Juárez

The event began at noon under a bright,blue sky and hot sun. Temperatures hovered near 80 degrees much of the afternoon. It ended with the Mass and a beautiful sunset around 6 p.m.

The crowd was sparse when the Sun Bowl opened at noon and grew larger as the Mass time grew nearer.

Nicaraguan American guitarist and singer Tony Melendez performed at the Sun Bowl event in the early afternoon. He said he would have liked to perform for a second time for the pope in Juárez. But he said he was happy to be at the Sun Bowl. El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz called him and asked him to perform at the event, he said.

"There's a little more room here" than at the Juárez Mass site, he said. "I think it's a good turnout. He's across the way here," so that took some people away from the Sun Bowl, he said. And the hot weather also may have kept people away. The pope's day in Juarez also was broadcast on El Paso TV stations.

Osvaldo Padilla was at the Sun Bowl with his wife and three boys because watching the pope on TV wouldn't be the same, he said.

"For us, it's more inspirational to be here and feel the people," the El Pasoan said. "You can't get that on TV."

Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; 546-6421; @vickolenc on Twitter.