..and other varia.
Very nice piece about a Texas family making the journey:
(The Times will be following the family this week. There’s a bit of video, too)

The Pequeños and their fellow pilgrims are a particularly ardent band. They are followers of the Neocatechumenal Way, a communitarian church movement, founded in Spain in the 1960s and accepted by the Vatican, that emphasizes a return to early Christian roots, evangelism, intense religious practice and sacrifice.

The Pequeños’ house is filled with Bibles and Christian images. Over the fireplace hangs a copy of an icon by the Spanish painter Francisco (Kiko) Argüello, who co-founded the movement.
Before they joined, Mr. Pequeño said, “we would just go to church for Sundays and holidays.” Now they go several times a week, he said, and often evangelize door to door, sometimes playing music.
“We use a lot of instruments,” added Ricky, who plays the drum. “The devil uses a lot of noise, and we fight against the devil, also with a lot of noise.”
The family credits their faith for helping them through many crises. Mr. and Mrs. Pequeño, who migrated to the United States from Mexico and became citizens, said their marriage had undergone strains. Mr. Pequeño said he complained about his wife but learned through prayer that “the way to change my wife is me.” He said they were also distraught when a medical condition prevented his wife from bearing more children. They prayed over it, he said, and quickly learned of a 2-year-old girl needing adoption. They happily took in the child, Emily.

Tim Drake’s on site and reporting for duty.
Jacqui Salmon has a report on where the pope will be staying in DC and this:

Outside, the pope will be greeted tomorrow as he arrives and departs by lucky parishioners from churches throughout the archdiocese, who were chosen because they did not receive tickets to the Mass. So instead of squinting down at a distant altar from the sky-high seats at Nationals Park, they’ll be 25 feet from the pope as he emerges and enters the embassy.

Tom Peters, American Papist, has a report on what sounds like a very interesting forum last Friday night sponsored by Communion and Liberation. Tom is also featured in some NBC News video – check out his blog for details.

 
(If anyone knows of any non-journalists or non-regular bloggers who are going to any of these events and blogging about it – please let me know. I’m also going to be on the lookout for what Protestant bloggers have to say, as well as just citizens of DC and NYC who are in the midst of the chaos and closed streets and uber-Catholics.)
 
And if you haven’t seen it, and are in the Catechesis biz, even at home, check out the DC Archdiocese’s catechesis on the papacy and on Benedict himself. It’s very good. A model, even. H/T Rich Leonardi.
Oh, and by the way, my first entry is very different from what’s been posted so far at the NYTimes blog. So much so that I’m starting to freak out a little about it. I have no idea how the entry is going to emerge at the end of the editing process, so we’ll see. It’s just that I hear “blog” and I think,well…”blog.”