Pope visit to Columbia in ‘87: ‘It is wonderful ... to be a student at the University of South Carolina’

When Pope John Paul II visited Columbia on Sept. 11, 1987 as part of an ecumenical conference on the USC campus, South Carolina had the nation’s smallest percentage of Catholics – just 2.1 percent of the state’s 3.35 million residents.

And while the size of anticipated crowds around the city did not live up to the pre-visit hype, thousands of enthusiastic residents and students cheered the pope as his Mercedes-Benz Popemobile made a lap around the University of South Carolina Horseshoe..

“It is wonderful to be young,” the Pope told the students. “It is wonderful to be young and to be a student. It is wonderful to be young and to be a student at the University of South Carolina.”

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who was there as a USC freshman, said the visit has had long-lasting impact on the city. “When you have a visit of that level – a state visit – of a person who probably has more world-wide influence than anyone else on the planet it adds a great deal of credibility to your city.”

The pope, on a 10-day visit to North America, spoke to parishioners at St. Peter’s Catholic Church downtown, and most of the state’s religious leaders took part in an interchurch worship service in a packed Williams-Brice Stadium. .

It was the first and only visit of a pope to South Carolina.

Janet Jones Kendall

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Pope visit to Columbia in ‘87: ‘It is wonderful ... to be a student at the University of South Carolina’."