Before I insert the latest press release from the archdiocese, let me add what a *pain* it has been to apply for press credentials for the papal visit. I am the lucky person sending in applications for all the reporters involved in this effort and thus have been wrestling with the software on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops site. The deadline for media applications is Thursday. Some 14,000 requests were sent in for the 1995 papal visit, just to give you an idea of the numbers involved.

Most of you out there in reader-land will not see how the sausage is made in terms of what it's like to cover these events but believe me, for the journalists involved, it's a mega- undertaking. As a veteran of John Paul II's 1987 trip through the Bible Belt, I remember the legions of reporters assigned to the event and how entire cities shut down - for security reasons - when the pontiff was in town. Just getting to the venues and waiting in the security lines, much less transmitting the stories back to a home base, was an all-day affair.

Speaking of time-consuming, someone over at the archdiocese has been a busy beaver in terms of putting together curriculum for Catholic Sunday school kids. Check here for all the pope prep you can give your kids.

Following is the archdiocese's announcement about the crucifix to be used at the Nationals stadium Mass:

Crucifix from St. Mark Church in Hyattsville to be Used for Papal Mass
The nearly 14-foot tall crucifix suspended above the altar of St. Mark Church in Hyattsville, Maryland will have an unusual new home for a few days this April: Nationals Park baseball stadium. The crucifix has been selected to form the backdrop for the April 17 Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
“This is an honor for our parish, to have the cross that hangs over our altar to hang over the altar during the Mass that Pope Benedict will be celebrating," said Rev. John McKay, pastor of St. Mark parish, which serves a thriving bilingual community (English and Spanish), and is located at 7501 Adelphi Road.
The Archdiocese of Washington undertook a search for a crucifix that would be large enough to be in scale with the 50-foot-square sanctuary and also moveable. The one in St. Mark's was installed when the church was built in 1999, and is suspended with airplane cable. The cross was made of walnut by Buster Watkins of Barnesville, Maryland. The corpus, or body of Christ, was purchased through McKay Church Goods of Ohio.

Photo: Archdiocese of Washington

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times