Lucky because Campion, a member of Montclair’s Immaculate Conception Church, was one of 20 Montclair Roman Catholic church members who won coveted tickets to a Papal Mass led by Pope Benedict XVI in Yankee Stadium this past Sunday.

She can’t stop talking about the experience she shared with nearly 60,000 devoted Catholics, much less forget every moment of that day.

"He had this wonderful smile," Campion said of the pope.

"It’s not just that he’s the pope, it is what he represents as the pope. He is the leader of a church that has been around for 2,000 years, just one of many religions in the country, and yet, the city came to a stand still."

Feeling "honored" and "privileged," Campion is not only proud as a Catholic, but as an American "so the pope could feel that when he left New York that it was a good experience for him," she said as her eyes began to well with tears.

"I consider myself so fortunate."

It was shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday morning Montclair residents jumped on buses and traveled to the Bronx, New York, to witness the Roman Catholic Church at its finest.

According to Archdiocese of Newark Director of Communications Jim Goodness, the Archdiocese was given 1,500 free tickets. Archbishop John Myers allotted five tickets to each of the 226 parishes in the archdiocese.

With four Roman Catholic Churches in Montclair, only 20 people would be going.

Each parish chose its method of selecting members, some using lotteries, while others picked the first five parishioners who requested them.

The group attending from St. Peter Claver Church included its priest, the Rev. Jose Gamba, Gladys Thomas, Andrew Nieves, Emilia Colon Hunt and Sherly Sainvilus.

"Oh, my goodness," Gamba gasped. "It was so great."

Gamba said Pope Benedict delivered his message of working with faith to strengthen devotion to the Catholic Church.

"He showed us to direct our every thought, word and action to the truth of the Gospel," Gamba said.

Immaculate Conception Church Monsignor Timothy Shugrue chose four church members: Sister Cora Marie Maguire, Deana Campion and Grace Kern of the Pastoral Council, and Jean Kidd, a member of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Shugrue was a bus captain for 32 parishioners who left shortly after 8 a.m. from Seton Hall University in South Orange.

The group prayed the Holy Rosary in English on the ride there, and repeated it in Spanish on the way back.

Shugrue called Sunday a "day of pilgrimage," as representatives from all 195 dioceses across the nation attended the Mass.

"It was more than just Mass, which is the supreme act of worship for Catholics - it was a great opportunity to be with the Holy Father," said Shugrue, who wore his black priest suit and Roman white collar, out of respect for the pope.

He was one of thousands of Catholics who jumped to their feet when the pope entered the altar to begin Mass, clapping and waving yellow Vatican flags and white handkerchiefs.

But it was during the offering of the Holy Communion, when hundreds of priests were stationed throughout the stadium to give the Eucharist to the multitude, that Shugrue was struck in awe by its "smooth" organization.

"They turned Yankee Stadium into a cathedral itself," said Kay Fausel, a Montclair resident and member of St. Cassian Church for the past five years.

She said that the experience helped elevate her faith.

"Did it give me a new, heightened sense about how I feel about my faith? Yes. Absolutely," Fausel said.

The Papal Mass, she said, encouraged her "to live out faith better," as seeing the pope is an opportunity that doesn’t often present itself to the faithful.

"To attend a Mass presided over by the Holy Father, it really is a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience," she added with a gasp as she recalled the events of this past Sunday.

She will particularly remember when Pope Benedict talked about "preserving the family, and finding hope in Christ and a religion," Fausel said. "I was really sorry to see it end."

Mary De Carlo, Diane Devaney, William De Zenzo, John Lenczuk and Maryann Zecchino, members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, won the opportunity to attend the Papal Mass in a lottery.

The church’s priest, the Rev. Anthony Lionelli, observed that the pope loved the attention he received from Americans. "He stood up and raised his hands like he wanted to embrace everybody" Lionelli said. "Even Saturday night, he insisted on going out and greeting people in the area, much to the consternation of the security guards. But he just loves to be with people."

John Stetz, a parishioner of St. Cassian Church for 19 years, won a ticket with his wife Geraldine in a church lottery. He said, "It was great to hear the pope start the Mass the same way as we do at St. Cassian."

Stetz said the pope’s message was "right on target," as he discussed peace among nations, human rights, abortion and the sex scandals within the Catholic Church. "It was an absolutely beautiful day that I’ll never forget."

Michael S. Kogan, professor of religious studies and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Montclair State University, said the pope "rekindled the faith of many people," and observed the pontiff to be very likeable among people.

"If the messenger is popular then the message will become more popular," Kogan said. "He brought a message of Catholicism which is open to other faiths in a very positive way."

Ed Olsen, a member of St. Cassian Church who attended the event with his wife, Cathy, said, "I was surprised at the profound effect it had on me."

"When the pope arrived, it was almost electric, coincidentally, and I don’t think a higher power was responsible for it," Olsen said. "He was more popular than the Yankees."

Olsen admired the pope’s humility, and his ability to capture an audience of such magnitude, calling him a "vibrant speaker."

"This was the tail end of an exhausting visit. You would never know it though," Olsen said.

"He is a very holy man, kind of a pope’s pope, if you will."

Olsen left the stadium, inspired.

"It would be hard to experience this and not feel that you needed to be a better person."