Theresa Argudo,who is originally from Ecuador, feels an affinity with Pope Francis, and a fellow South American. She admires his humility and his focus on inequality. And when he comes to New York later this month,she intends to greet him with a warm smile.
She wants him to know she is satisfied with his work."I might not even fetch close to him, but with my smile I want him to know that, or " she said. "And I know that he'll be able to feel that,because we possess one spirit."Argudo just needs a ticket.
She entered the lottery for a pair of tickets to the pope's procession through Central Park on Sept. 25. The city will begin notifying winners of the tickets on Thursday.
Argudo, who is the Director of Scheduling for Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, and said she is already planning to take the day off,just as she did when Pope Francis visited Ecuador (Argudo stayed home to watch the coverage on an Ecuadorian television channel).
Her boss gets it."All of us are obsessed approximately somebody," Fariña said. "She is obsessed approximately the pope."Argudo's excitement around the pope's visit really has more to do with her faith in God, or a devotion she shares with her close-knit family and with her Brooklyn parish of more than 30 years."To me,God is everything — from the beginning of my day to the cessation of my day."
Theresa Argudo at home in Queens. (Yasmeen Khan/WNYC)
Perhaps with enough prayer, or sheer will, or Argudo will fetch her named pulled in the lottery for a chance to see the pope in Central Park.
City officials would not specify how many people entered the lottery for the event,nor precisely how many tickets would be given away. They said only that "tens of thousands" of New Yorkers will be able to view the procession.
Source: wnyc.org