Local Hispanic Leaders Attend Historic Papal Address
Not only was it her birthday – and one of the best gifts she could possibly receive – but important meetings and events on her calendar just moved around without her having to do anything so she could attend Pope Francis’ historic address to Congress last Thursday, said Isabel Villar, Executive Director of El Centro Hispano, of White Plains, in an interview on Sunday.
Villar said she received the invitation from Congresswoman Nita Lowey for herself and El Centro Hispano Deputy Director Judith Aucar just three weeks before the event. The answer, of course, was an immediate “Yes” and the two Cuban refugees from the 1960s, who came to the United States to escape the reign of Castro, realized they were at a point of what seemed like full circle in their lives.
“I had to leave high school at age 16 because I went to a Catholic school in Cuba,” Villar remembered, acknowledging that being in the Capitol building, seated in the Gallery, listening to the moving words of Pope Francis and witnessing the overwhelmingly positive response of everyone around her, completely reinforced everything she had done and is continuing to do in her life.
El Centro Hispano provides services to Hispanic immigrants to the United States, helping them legally, to learn English and promoting education for their children.
Because Villar and Aucar had to pick up their tickets to the Papal address at Congresswoman Nita Lowey’s office, they had to be up early on Thursday morning.
“We stayed at a hotel about three to four miles out and took a subway to get downtown,” Villar said. “I could not sleep. When the clock struck 3 a.m., I said that’s it, time to get up. The subway didn’t open until 5 a.m.”
With tickets in hand, Villar and Aucar were escorted through seven security checkpoints and through the tunnels that connect buildings on the “Hill.”
“Seated in the Gallery, I kept pinching myself,” Villar said. “It did not seem all that long ago that I came to the United States with only the clothes on my back, and here I was in person watching history being made – the first time the Pope would address Congress.
It was so different from watching the President make the State of the Union address, Villar noted. “The Pope was so humble. He went down the aisle and to the podium as though he was in meditation. Everyone was silent, on the edge of their seats listening to every word he said. He was interrupted so many times with applause. And I saw so many people crying, Villar said. “It was an incredible experience. With every different issue he spoke of, you could feel the unity, as though everything was one.”
Before coming to White Plains and El Centro Hispano, Villar was an American History teacher in Norwalk, Conn. She has Political Science and Latin American Studies degrees and taught students from 7th to 10th grade.
Her knowledge of American history made last week’s experience all the more profound.
“This Pope has a unique way of saying things,” Villar said. “ He tells everyone what they don’t want to hear, but they realize he is right. He teaches by example.”
Villar said that during lunch there were members of Congress all around talking about the address and commenting on the Pope’s remarks. “Everyone was very positive,” she said. “We will see if anything changes.”
Villar and Aucar were also guests at Madison Square Garden for the Pope’s Mass the following day.
In a press release after Thursday’s address, Congresswoman Lowey made the following statement: “It was an honor to hear His Holiness, Pope Francis address a Joint Session of Congress today. In his historic speech, he underscored the pressing need to address all forms of poverty. His commitment to providing a voice for the voiceless transcends faiths and party lines, reminding us that we must all work together to lift up the poor, provide care to the sick, and ensure opportunity for all to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.”
