As both New York baseball stadiums prepare to close, The Post looks back at the 25 most memorable moments in the history of Shea. This week, No. 13.
Oct. 3 1979
In the second papal visit to New York, Pope John Paul II made Shea Stadium one of his stops during his seven-day tour.
The appearance in Queens was his last day in New York and a torrential downpour soaked the more than 60,000 people gathered to see the pontiff. The rain cleared up as soon as the Pope reached the stadium, causing some of the visitors to say they had witnessed a minor miracle.
The Pope gave a rousing speech about the qualities of New York City and spoke in four different languages, getting loud applause from the different ethnic groups gathered there.
“Above all, a city needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings,” the Pope said of New York. “You, the people, must give it this soul. And how do you do this? By loving each other. Love for each other must be the hallmark of your lives.”
Even when the Pope’s English broke down, the crowd gave him a big cheer. When he referred tot the city’s large buildings as “sky scrappers” or pronounced all the C’s in “Connecticut,” the crowd gave him warm applause.
Crowds that went four deep and covered up by umbrellas lined the route the Pope used to get to Shea Stadium. The Pope rode in a white truck with a handrail and the papal seal on the side. He was surrounded by police and secret servicemen.
During the Mass, the Pope sat on a 109-year-old oak chair that had been found in the basement of St. Augustine’s Church in Bay Ridge.
At the end of the Mass, the Pope blessed the crowd, spoke the Latin words of the blessing then said “Good-bye.” Thousands raised crucifixes, rosary beads and pictures. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” played as he departed for La Guardia Airport.