Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
December 5, 2001
Airport ministry adds Mass for travelers
Sunday morning Mass offered on Concourse B, noon Mass at chapel
By Alwen Bledsoe
Packed security lines filled DIA the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but six worshippers found solace from the holiday frenzy at a new Mass on Concourse B at Denver International Airport.
Tightened security measures following the Sept. 11 attacks significantly shorted the time travelers had to linger in the terminal where the Interfaith Chapel and the noon Mass are located, said Deacon Jack Sutton, a chaplain at the airport. The Mildred Harris Room, where the new 10:45 a.m. Mass is held, is positioned between security check-points and departure gates and is an easier destination for travelers, organizers said. Since Nov. 4, Deacon Sutton said, Sunday Mass has also been offered inside Concourse B so travelers can be sure they'll have time to get through the security lines and to their flights.
"When they first announced (the new security measures), we thought, `Who's going to stay in the terminal?'" Deacon Sutton said. "People come through the airport and go through security to their concourses."
Though uncertain of the exact figure, the deacon estimated that Masses have been said at the Interfaith Chapel in the terminal for two years. But the addition on Concourse B, he hopes, will bring in more travelers. The majority of those who attend the Sunday noon Mass at the Interfaith Chapel are employees, Deacon Sutton said.
"We care about employees who have to work on Sunday and all kinds of hours and need to get to Mass," he said. But, he added: "The vicariate under which I work is migration/immigration. Who we're really supposed to be ministering to is travelers."
That, Deacon Sutton said, was a big consideration in choosing to add the Mass at Concourse B.
Neither he nor two of the five priests who regularly offer Mass at the airport have seen an increase in those attending Mass at DIA since the Sept. 11 attacks. They have, however, begun to see a higher traveler to employee ratio at the 10:45 Mass, while they still minister to employees at the noon Mass. On average, each Mass brings in between 10 and 25, said Msgr. Carl Hayden, who offers Mass at DIA once a month.
One of the greatest obstacles organizers said they face in drawing more travelers to Mass is getting the word out. While the noon Mass was once announced over the loud speakers, a complaint about promoting a religious event on city property put a stop to that, they said. The 10:45 Mass is announced only in Concourse B, Deacon Sutton said.
Nonetheless, said Father John Canjar, who also offers Mass monthly at the airport, travelers are very grateful.
"It's only recently on the B Concourse that we're meeting travelers," he said.
And though he gets to talk with them only "casually," their gratitude still comes through, he said.
"They say `Thanks.' They're glad they had the opportunity to attend Mass," he said.
Msgr. Hayden offered Mass in Concourse B for the first time on Nov. 24, and has been saying Mass at the Interfaith Chapel for about two years, he said. And, he added, he's more than happy to do it.
"It's a privilege to do so," he said. "The privilege and the honor of a priest is to offer a Mass, so you're making it possible for people to participate in Mass who might not otherwise get there."
Though retired, Msgr. Hayden said with a smile, "I'm on duty most of the time." Nov. 30 marked the 56th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, he added.
Offering Mass at DIA is "a beautiful expression of the universal Church," said Msgr. Hayden.
"It's just a reinforcement of the beautiful idea that for Catholic people Mass is the same no matter where they go," he said.
On Nov. 24, 55- year-old Jory Wilke was returning to her home in Madison, Wis., after visiting her sister in Colorado. As her sister is not a Catholic, she said, she missed Saturday night Mass. But at the top of the escalator she saw a hand-written sign pointing the way to the Mass.
"I was very grateful," she said, later adding, "It was nice to come here on the way home."
John Johnston, 28, lives in Los Angeles, Calif., but grew up in Colorado and was back visiting family for the Thanksgiving weekend.
"It just is a blessing to me — it's a great privilege and a blessing — because I would have spent this time in a different fashion," he said. "It was great to worship, pray and give thanks."
Though he now attends Metro Church, a Protestant church in Los Angeles, he grew up Catholic, he said.
"I go anywhere they've got Jesus," he said.
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