By Father Ron Nuzzi, Senior Director of ACE RISE

I’ve had the good fortune over the years to be in the gallery and on the floor of the House chamber in the U.S. Congress many times. I visited an empty chamber as a grade school student, opened a session of Congress with a prayer, and witnessed a State of the Union Address.

But never ever I have seen such excitement and energy in the House as I did this morning with the arrival of Pope Francis. Setting partisan politics aside for an hour, the entire assembly was sitting on the edge of our proverbial seats, hanging on every word of the Pope. Guests sitting near me felt obligated to shush the many official photographers that filled the aisles in the gallery because their clicking shutters made just enough noise to distort the pope’s voice.

There were a lot of clergy nearby. I was seated next to Bishop Matthew Clark, bishop emeritus of Rochester, NY. Clark was visibly overjoyed and enthusiastic even in the run up to the pope’s arrival. But when Pope Francis, like a good teacher, pointed out some prominent examples of Christian living as models for faithful adult discipleship, the entire House was on its feet for an extended applause. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton—all held up as compelling witnesses with a missionary zeal. I’m not sure everyone present knew exactly the import of these last two persons—Day and Merton—but Catholic leaders, especially those working on issues related to poverty, immigration, and social justice felt affirmed by Francis’ choices and readily embraced his message.

Archbishop Wenski from Miami, Cardinal DiNardo from Galveston-Houston, Bishop Cantu from Las Cruces—all of them were smiling, nodding in agreement, and applauding. Sister Simone Campbell of “Nuns on the Bus” fame was just beaming and often leading the applause and ovations. I loved the spirit that was in the room, the openness to the pope’s message. And it was a special joy to hear his words and reflect on their meaning before any other media get to reframe and recast his message for alternative purposes.

Even a taxi cab driver I encountered reported that the city seemed a bit more gentle these last couple of days, with people more tolerant of each other. I asked how that could be so and he told me that he found drivers less aggressive, more accommodating of pedestrians, more likely to allow another to pass. He even said that the tone on Twitter was a bit improved, and he attributed it all to the kind, soft-spoken presence of the visiting pope. While I’m sure the pope has bigger goals than shaping the tone of tweets, I saw the same thing in Congress that the cab driver saw on the streets.

The presence of a humble, holy man brought out the best in people. May NYC and Philadelphia be blessed as DC was.