Cape woman recalls pope's blessing

Five years ago Erin Oberhaus, 21, was blessed by Pope John Paul II during his visit to St. Louis.

This week, she mourns his passing and celebrates his life.

Oberhaus said she knew the pope had suffered and was probably ready to greet death.

"It's a blessing in disguise." He had been ill so long that he probably welcomed the relief death brought, she said. The 84-year-old pontiff had Parkinson's disease, which is a degenerative nerve disorder that causes tremors.

"I know what it's like to be suffering from a chronic illness," Oberhaus said.

Oberhaus has lupus and a related kidney disease that required her to undergo chemotherapy treatments until 2001. She doesn't have lupus symptoms regularly, but does battle fatigue.

As a 21-year-old college student, Oberhaus recalls in great detail the day she greeted Pope John Paul II.

When the pope visited Missouri in 1999, Oberhaus was a patient at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis and was one of five children chosen for a papal blessing.

She remembers how the crowd "went crazy" when the pontiff entered on his Popemobile. She remembers how the youths acted "like he was a rock star" and started chanting. "The people just went crazy."

She remembers the pontiff getting a hockey jersey with "JP2" on the back.

"I always remember the music," she said. As soon as the piano began playing, she started crying.

She was the third of the five children from the hospital to receive the blessing. She tried to give John Paul II a hug, but he got a little unbalanced. "I was barely able to embrace him," she said. And she still gets teased for trying to knock the pontiff down.

"But I did kiss his cheek, and he returned a kiss on my cheek," she said. The rosary he handed her is on a night table by her bed. It bears John Paul II's crest and a Vatican emblem.

Oberhaus, and her mother Cheryl, knew that receiving a blessing from the pope wasn't the same as a cure. "I never expected to have any kind of healing, but it had a definite impact on me."

Oberhaus said she struggled a lot in the early days of her lupus diagnosis. "I had questions about my faith," she said. And the pope's visit "gave me more hope than I had the day before."

Oberhaus spent much of the weekend in reflection, thinking about her personal encounter with the pope. She was watching television news with her mother when word of his death was announced Saturday.

"We were sad but not to the point of tears," she said.

She intends to watch the pontiff's funeral on Friday, if her schedule allows.

As she waits for a papal election, she has some hopes and fears for the new spiritual leader.

"One of the things that does worry me is that this pope had a legacy with the young people. And the next pope might not be so inclined to deal with youth.

"We are the future, and even the smaller ones will carry on this faith," she said.

Oberhaus said she's heard many people talking about how difficult it will be find a pope to fill John Paul II's shoes. "I think the young people kept him going, and I hope that continues."

ljohnston@semissourian.com

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