Several West Virginians will be in attendance later this month when tens of thousands of people flock to Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia for Pope Francis' historic first visit to the United States.
Monsignor Edward Sadie, the rector at the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, in Charleston, will be the guest of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., during the welcome ceremony, scheduled for the morning of Sept. 24 in Washington.
"I'm delighted," Sadie said. "I admire this pope very much. I quote him quite often and read everything he says."
Church member Tom Lane, at the insistence of his mother and fellow church member Marianne Lane, arranged with Manchin to have Sadie accompany him to one of the events the pope is to attend.
"We all share a common belief that Father Sadie has been a remarkable parish priest and exemplifies all the qualities we see in the current pope," Tom Lane said. Through Sadie, Sacred Heart has established relationships with those of all faiths, not just Christians, he said.
Lane, also a pilot, will fly Sadie to D.C., he said.
"I will attend whatever I can, but I'm going to help Father Sadie around," Lane said. "I will do what's necessary to get him to the White House if that's where he's going to go."
State Sen. Jeff Kessler (D-Marshall) received a personal invitation from the White House to attend an event with the pope.
"I'm tickled to death to have been invited," Kessler, a practicing Catholic, said after receiving the emailed invitation. "It's something I'm sure I'll take with me to my grave."
The personal invitation from President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama is the first Kessler has received.
One downside of the invite is that it doesn't include a plus one - but Kessler is hardly complaining.
"I'm honored to go," he said.
Although he isn't exactly sure how he got on the exclusive guest list, Kessler said he thought his role as a ranking member of the Democratic Party in the West Virginia Legislature might have had something to do with it.
He also noted that he's had communications with the White House before, as he's been involved in conference calls with the president's administration on occasion.
Discussing the importance of the pope's first visit to the United States, Kessler said, with the country being extremely religious, it stands that there will be a lot to learn.
Kessler said he has been especially impressed with Francis for his Christ-like behavior.
"He's been welcoming, and trying to make the Catholic church universal again," said the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, noting Francis' attempts to reach out to the impoverished and disenfranchised members of the church.
Kessler said Francis has been instrumental in raising awareness on the basic tenets of religion - largely that it is supposed to be about love.
"He's going to spread his message of love and Christian values," Kessler said of the pope.
Francis will arrive in Washington on Sept. 22 for a three-city, six-day tour of the United States. While in D.C., he will address a joint meeting of Congress. In New York City, he plans to attend an evening prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He also plans to conduct Mass at Madison Square Garden and attend the World Meeting of Families Congress, in Philadelphia.
In addition to Sadie and Kessler, a few members of the Charleston chapter of Serra International are planning to attend the Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in D.C. Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan monk who founded nine missions in California, is being sainted. His will be the first canonization on American soil.
"It's a historic event, both for our country and the church," Michael Tupta, a local dentist and president of Charleston's Serra club, said.
Tupta is a nine-year member of the Serra club, which exists to support priests in their ministries.
He is one of about seven Charleston residents he said will be attending the Mass. This will be Tupta's second time attending a Mass with a pope - he also went to D.C. in 2008 for a papal Mass with Pope Benedict. He said that event was wonderful.
The Serra club is planning a celebration Mass for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at Sacred Heart, before the trip to D.C. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Reach Lori Kersey at lori.kersey@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1240 or follow @LorikerseyWV on Twitter.
Reach Joel Ebert at joel.ebert@dailymailwv.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @joelebert29 on Twitter.