Floyd McCubbins became a deacon of the Catholic Church to serve others, and that’s exactly what he did in big proportions in Philadelphia as part of the Sunday Papal Mass during Pope Francis’ visit to the United States.

McCubbins, a permanent deacon at Risen Christ Parish in Evergreen, and 274 other deacons from throughout the country gave communion to more than 100,000 people on the streets who did not have tickets to get into the event.

“I have never been so humbled in my whole life,” McCubbins said afterward. “I kissed and blessed about 30 babies that were presented to me by their mothers and another dozen young men and women who were handicapped that their parents held up at the rail. I have never had as many tears as I did this day. I was totally drained.”

McCubbins was one of four deacons whose names had been drawn in a lottery to be at the altar with Pope Francis during Sunday Mass, but at the last minute organizers decided four deacons from the Diocese of Philadelphia would instead celebrate Mass with the pope. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise.

“When the opportunity arose to serve with Pope Francis at the Mass in Philadelphia, it was more than I wanted to take on,” McCubbins said. “I have said many prayers to show me the one way I can be the servant I was intended to become as a deacon of the Catholic Church. My prayers [were] answered, in that I was granted the lesser seat at the table of the Lord. I was able to serve communion along with my brother deacons, to the faithful who came to see the pope.

“It is easy to forget that God doesn’t call us to greatness. He calls us to be great in what we do,” McCubbins continued. “As clergy, it is sometimes difficult [to know] who we are there to serve.  But on this day, I was allowed to take the lessor seat at the table of the Lord and serve those in need.”

McCubbins did get to see Pope Francis go past in the motorcade. And deacons serving on the street were given a special dispensation by Pope Francis and Archbishop Chaput.

“All medals, rosaries and crosses we had in our possession and we held up as he passed by were officially blessed by the Pope,” he said.

Being part of an event that drew a crowd of about 865,000 people to hear that Sunday Mass was an extraordinary opportunity, McCubbins said.

Preparation for the trip began many months ago for McCubbins and his wife, Connie. When the bishop learned McCubbins was going to see Pope Francis, he asked him if he would like to assist during the Papal Mass on Sept. 27. All of the crucial pieces of planning then fell into place.

The McCubbinses and another couple traveling with them luckily got rail tickets to the event site through a lottery offered by the transit system. Only 384,000 passes were offered.

The numbers of security officers in place for the papal visit to Philadelphia were astounding. In a detailed Facebook account of his experience, McCubbins elaborated on what he saw:

“We are walking down the middle of the street towards the event and everywhere around us is security personnel,” he wrote. “At every intersection are eight military personnel, two per each corner. On the street are police officers on bicycles, in cars, pickups, suburbans and on ATVs.  All forms of security personnel are represented, ranging from the U.S. Border Patrol, National Park Service, Homeland Security, FBI, to the Secret Service.

“Security was as tight as I have ever seen it. Way tighter than any airport security,” he continued.

McCubbins also used social media to share his personal insight about the event.

“We, like everybody else, are in awe of what this man of God represents for each and everyone of us,” he wrote. “While not all agree with some of his ideas as to what Church is, I believe that we can all agree that Pope Francis is a world leader to be respected, no matter your world views.”

Within his long narrative, McCubbins emphasized that being part of the Papal visit in such a tangible, humble way, person to person as he gave communion, was truly an answer to prayer.

Features Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.