St. Jerome's in Spring Branch - a parish that's 80 percent Hispanic - erupted into applause when Deacon Pedro Salas announced that he and his wife were joining the Montoyas and another couple, the Medinas, on a trip to see the Holy Father.
Parishioners passed Pedro Salas photos of the pope, prayer cards and beaded rosaries to take with him to be blessed. A youth group gathered in the church foyer to touch Pilar Salas before her trip. Everyone wanted to take part.
"I don't think we are going to have another John Paul II. He is a little bit different, but not a whole lot. As long as they come from Rome, Mexico will love them," said Pedro Salas. "The faces are different, but the feeling in the hearts of the people is the same."
