Being the pastor of a Southside
Chicago church must have its challenges. But for Father Mark
Pasciak, facing a group in his church one recent Sunday was filled
with unnecessary stress.
He had to face 42
members of his parish at St. Symphorosa Catholic Church who thought
they were leaving on an 11-day tour from Warsaw, Poland, to Rome to
follow in the footsteps of the late Pope John Paul II. Pasciak had
to inform them that their trip, scheduled to depart in 72 hours,
had been canceled. Worse, the tour organizer had filed for
bankruptcy.
There were tears in
the church, and more than a little anger. Not everyone in this
congregation is wealthy. The $3,200 price tag, said one woman,
"took pretty much 10 years of savings."
Pasciak and his
congregation prayed, and they let the Archdiocese of Chicago know
what had happened. One or two local newspapers ran the story. The
Southwest News-Herald interviewed Pasciak, who said he would "pray
for understanding and acceptance of what had happened."
Prayers come in
many forms. And so do angels. In Chicago, angels can have broad
shoulders and the toughness of a defensive lineman.
Mike Schields heard what had happened. At mega tour
operator Globus Journeys, Shields is director of group sales and
emerging markets. But that's not what the parishioners at St.
Symphorosa call him. They say he's "an angel."
Schields was angry
that this had happened. It gives tour operators a bad name. So he
got on the phone with some of Globus' top executives, and within 24
hours they had decided to do something. Kevin Wright, the religious
travel manager, thought they should help, and so did Globus' CFO,
Kevin Ford. Scott Nesbit, the COO at Globus, was enthusiastic in
his support. He told Schields to go for it.
Within hours, the
company's owners in Lugano, Switzerland, had signed on. Globus was
going to save this trip. They were going to answer a few
prayers.
Now, I'm as cynical
as the next guy. Sure, it might have crossed someone's mind at
Globus that this could provide an opportunity for some good public
relations. But when you look into the story, it becomes clear that
good intentions really were at the heart of this story.
Schields spoke to
Father Pasciak, telling him that Globus would "buy the entire group
a complimentary tour to Poland this coming March."
That afternoon,
Lufthansa had come through with 42 tickets. The Globus folks in
Colorado and Lugano, the folks on the ground in Poland, the
Lufthansa executives in Germany and the local angel, Mike Schields,
put it all together for the entire group of would-be travelers. No
PR firm gave out the story; this one was from the heart.
On a recent Sunday,
the Schields family was invited to attend services at a rather
joyous and thankful St. Symphorosa. Father Pasciak wanted Mike the
angel to say a few words. Mike tried. But the thing that really
stood out in Mike's mind was the woman who held onto his arm,
explaining, "You are the answer to our prayers."
Just before
leaving, a woman who had been holding back approached Mike and
said, "In today's society, this just isn't normal." She hugged
him.
Globus was born 75
years ago, when a man named Antonio Mantegazza bought a rowboat to
try to earn a living taking goods across Lake Lugano.
You have to imagine
that he would be proud of what Globus has done for a small church
in the suburbs of Chicago.
Contributing editor Richard Turen owns Churchill and Turen
Ltd., a vacation planning firm, and has been named to Conde Nast's
list of the World's Top Travel Specialists since the list
began.