Event With Pope Beyond Belief

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Local business leader, public relations consultant and lifelong Catholic David Herbst had the experience of a lifetime as he sat just a few yards behind Pope Francis during the pontiff’s address to a joint session of Congress last month.

As soon as Herbst, co-founder of downtown L.A.’s Vectis Strategies, heard the pope was going to address Congress and learned that each representative had one seat to spare, he quickly and quietly contacted a local congressman (he wouldn’t say which one). Then, in a stroke of what he called “divine intervention,” the congressman’s spouse opted not to attend, leaving the seat for Herbst.

While Herbst couldn’t see the pope’s face during the historic address, he was uniquely positioned to see the crowd’s reaction – including Supreme Court justices, congressional leaders and Cabinet members. At the end of the pontiff’s speech, when he said, “America, the land of the free and the home of the brave,” Herbst said his eyes teared up as did the eyes of those around him.

He was so moved by the experience that on the plane ride back from Washington, D.C., he wrote down his thoughts for his four daughters:

“To see the faces of our leaders respond to his presence – from smiles and tears to solemn head nods, all not Catholics, but all Americans – was truly a once in a lifetime experience. It was humbling to be a firsthand witness to history.”

– Howard Fine

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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