Padre Pro’s last request was to be allowed to kneel and pray. When the firing squad’s shots failed to kill him, a soldier shot him at point-blank range. Pro had been falsely accused in the bombing attempt of former Mexican President Álvaro Obregón, and had become a wanted man. Betrayed to the authorities, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process. On the day of his execution, Pro forgave his executioners and refused a blindfold. He died proclaiming, Viva Cristo Rey! (Long live Christ the King!) On a recent trip to Mexico City, I was exploring the Roma Norte Neighborhood, courtesy of Visit Mexico City.  Located on the edge of the city’s bustling downtown and historical sites, my photographer, Deb Roskamp, and I were just about to take a break in one of Roma Norte’s idyllic tree-lined pocket parks, when a small building, adjacent to a parish church, caught our  attention.  Its sign read: Museo Padre Pro. The name sounded curiously familiar, so we went inside.

The museum was small, but felt spacious, allowing emotional space to reflect on this man Pro and his remarkable life story. At the entrance to the museum, books, posters and postcards were sold. All the information was in Spanish, but fortunately my photographer was Spanish-speaking wife, who translated Pro’s history to me. His story was of a  Catholic priest who defied the fiercely anti-clerical and anti-Catholic provisions of the 1917 Constitution, which were now vigorously enforced in 1926. This enforcement resulted in severe penalties for priests, including death, who criticized the government or wore clerical garb outside their churches. The articles also mandated secular education in schools, prohibiting the Church from participating in primary and secondary education, forbade public worship outside of church buildings and restricted religious organizations to own property. The final article revoked basic civil rights of clergy members, denying priests and religious workers the right to vote.

In 1926, the Jesuits sent Padre Pro to Mexico City just three days after Plutarco Elías Calles banned all public worship. Since he was not known as a priest, Pro went about clandestinely — sometimes in disguise of a variety of professions — celebrating Mass, distributing communion, baptizing children, hearing confessions, anointing the sick, and even celebrating weddings. He would often dress as a beggar to collect money for the poor. The whole time, he was risking his life because public worship was explicitly outlawed and priests would be arrested immediately. Details of Pro’s ministry in the Underground Church come from his many letters displayed in the museum. Soon under surveillance by the Calles regime, a failed attempt to assassinate Álvaro Obregón, provided the state with a pretext for arresting Pro.  A man confessed his part in the plot, testifying that Pro was not involved, but this was ignored.

In prison, unsure of his fate, Pro spent his time praying for the others in confinement and for the salvation of humankind. On the morning of November 23, a guard appeared at the cell door and called for Padre Pro. He turned to the other prisoners and exclaimed, Good-bye, brothers, till we meet in Heaven!

Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel – Leonard Cohen’s Montréal

Montréal is a city of cathedrals, and for my first trip to the city my plan was to walk from one church to the next, never knowing what experience awaited me around each corner. While wandering on the edge of Old Montréal’s cobbledstoned streets, I stumbled upon Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel, known as The Sailor’s Church due to its proximity to the Old Port. I was quite moved by the statue of a woman atop its dome, who seemed to reach out to the St. Lawrence River. Upon closer inspection I realized that the statue was Our Lady of the Harbour, made famous by Leonard Cohen in his song, Suzanne. As a fan of Cohen, it was an important discovery in which I will never forget. The church also features an observation tower with remarkable views of Old Montréal and the St. Lawrence, and a museum, which includes artifacts pre-dating the arrival of the New France colonists in 1642. Admission to the chapel is free.

The Dying Lion Monument of Lucerne – Swiss Guard

The Dying Lion of Lucerne is a powerful memorial that pays homage to the selfless Swiss Guard who died defending the royal palace in Versailles during the French Revolution. When angry French masses stormed  the palace on August 10, 1792, the 1,000  Swiss Guardsmen stood up as the last defenders of the French monarchy — but in vain. (History has not been kind to Louis XVI, but we forget that he underwrote the Continental Army during the American Revolution). The Guard, renowned for their bravery and unconditional loyalty, never surrender, even at the point of death. A Swiss Guardsman had to be an unmarried Swiss Catholic male between 19 and 30 years of age who had completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces. The Dying Lion of Lucerne  monument was initiated by Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen, a junior lieutenant with the Swiss Guard, and was hewn out of stone after rallying Lucerne’s artistic community. It was described by Mark Twain as “The most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”

Today, the Swiss Guard’s esteemed stature remains as defenders of the Pope in the Vatican. Since the assassination attempt on John Paul II of 13 May 1981, a much stronger emphasis has been placed on the Guard’s non-ceremonial roles. The Swiss Guard has developed into a modern guard corps equipped with advanced small arms, and members in plain clothes now accompany the Pope on his travels abroad for his protection. I recall with frustration while standing in line at  Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City where a group of American tourists were mocking a  Swiss Guard’s historic mode of dress. I tried to explain to them that they were among the world’s greatest defenders. I was met with further laughter: “In those little outfits!” I thought, yes; but far more appropriate than the American tourists’ baseball caps, sweat strewn tee shits with logos, and frayed baggy shorts.

The Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles in Liverpool

The Magical Mystery Tour of Liverpool is the ultimate Beatle experience for the ultimate Beatle fanatic, and if you fit that description, it is well worth the journey. The tour introduces you to over thirty places directly associated with the Beatles and those people who were close to them.

Tickets are purchased at the  Beatles Story Museum at the renovated Albert Dock, on the River Mersey. If you have the time, the museum offers a good Beatles primer before you get on the bus. Full of memorabilia, rare photographs and interactive exhibits, it covers the lads’ beginnings to their rise to stardom and eventual departure from Liverpool.

Participants board one of the company’s fleet of three yellow psychedelic Magical Mystery Tour coaches identical to the bus used in the 1967 BBC film “Magical Mystery Tour.” A team of professional tour guides who are all expert Beatle historians conduct the two and a half-hour journey. And each of them seems to have their own personal story and relationship with John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Selected Highlights:

The Jacaranda club where the lads would hang out during their student days

The Liverpool College of Art where John met Stuart Sutcliffe, later a temporary Beatle,  and Cynthia Powell, who became his first wife.

Penny Lane and Strawberry Field/s.

The childhood homes of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

St. Peter’s Church Hall, where Paul first met John while he was performing with his Quarry Men skiffle group.

And, of course, the reconstructed Cavern Club.

Yes, these are places that I will always remember.

The real story of ‘Yellow matter custard, Dripping from a dead dog’s eye’ in “I am the Walrus.” John Lennon heard that a Liverpudlian school teacher was teaching  courses about the meaning in Beatle songs. The lyric is a Liverpudlian school boy taunt. Lennon though the kids would get a kick out of it, so he put it into the song.

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The Magical Mystery Tour of Liverpool is the ultimate Beatle experience for the ultimate Beatle fanatic, and if you fit that description, it is well worth the journey. The tour introduces you to over thirty places directly associated with the Beatles and those people who were close to them.

Tickets are purchased at the  Beatles Story Museum at the renovated Albert Dock, on the River Mersey. If you have the time, the museum offers a good Beatles primer before you get on the bus. Full of memorabilia, rare photographs and interactive exhibits, it covers the lads’ beginnings to their rise to stardom and eventual departure from Liverpool.

Ticket to Ride

Participants board one of the company’s fleet of three yellow psychedelic Magical Mystery Tour coaches identical to the bus used in the 1967 BBC film “Magical Mystery Tour.” A team of professional tour guides who are all expert Beatle historians conduct the two and a half-hour journey. And each of them seems to have their own personal story and relationship with John, Paul, George and Ringo.

There Are Places I Remember

The coach departs for downtown Liverpool where you’ll see the  department stores where George Harrison was a trainee electrician and Paul McCartney a van driver. There’s the Jacaranda club where the lads would hang out during their student days, strumming guitars and eating the Jac’s famous bacon butties. John was even known to scribble a few illustrations on the walls.

The Liverpool College of Art was where John would meet Stuart Sutcliffe in 1957. Stu sold a painting and John persuaded him to buy a bass guitar and join his band. Stu never really could play, but John insisted that he be in the band because he was just so ‘cool looking.’ Stu was to die of a brain hemorrhage in Hamburg a few years later. He is considered the lead character in the Beatle song “In My Life.” John would also meet the former Cynthia Powell at the school, who later became his first wife.

Another important landmark is Beatle manager Brian Epstein’s NEMS Record Store. Legend has it that a youth walked into the store in 1961 asking for anything by the Beatles. Epstein, who prided himself on finding any record a customer requested, became obsessed with locating a recording by this strangely named group of musicians. As additional fans asked about the Beatles, Brian became curious to find out more about this new local sensation. To his surprise, he found they were making one of their regular lunchtime appearances just around the corner from his office. The place was called the Cavern, a catacombed basement club below a row of grimy old warehouses on Mathew Street. The next day he spent his lunch hour at the Cavern, and then offered to manage them.  One of his first acts as manager was to have them ditch their scruffy leather boy personae, and putting them in suits. Epstein cleaned the Beatles-up, while Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldman (former press agent for Epstein) dirtied-down the upper middle class Stones – to the chagrin of both Lennon and Mick Jagger.

Epstein’s upstairs office soon became the center place for his ever-expanding Beatles enterprises. The office also became a hangout for the band, as once the store closed they would play all the newest records from the States. Liverpool was the big port of England and the city would be the first to get all the latest rock recordings from overseas. This helped the Beatles’ song repertoire at the clubs when they do cover versions of rock and pop songs – which there were few of in 1961.

Sentimental Journey

The coach leaves the city center for the Dingle, a rough and tumble district of row houses where Richard Starkey (Ringo) was born. He was a sickly child, and spent most of his childhood in hospitals with very little formal schooling. However, he possessed a sarcastic Liverpudlian wit which helped him survive the mean streets of the Dingle, despite ill health and short stature. For reasons of safety, the coach does not stop in front of his non-descript row house, but does swing by The Empress Public House, which fans will recognize on the cover of Ringo’s first solo album, “Sentimental Journey.”

Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies

Truth be told, John, Paul and George were children of the suburbs. Despite the leather coats and Teddy Boy stances, they were not unlike the millions of rock ‘n’ posers of today. John was raised by his Aunt Mimi in an upper middle class home on Menlove Avenue, in Woolton, south Liverpool, after his free-spirited mother Julia dropped him off there to ‘stay for awhile.’ It is the “Julia” he sings of on “The Beatles” double album (aka “The White Album”). John spent more time at this residence than at any other place in his life. It is where he first heard Elvis sing “Hearbreak Hotel” on the radio and where he learned to play the guitar. He wrote the Beatles’ first number one hit, “Please Please Me” in the upstairs bedroom. The property was later purchased by Yoko Ono, who then donated it to the National Trust. The bus stops in the front of the house where Julia, who had returned to live when he was teenager, was hit and killed by a drunk driver while crossing the street. John himself answered the door to the notifying official and even had to go to the morgue to identify her body. He later said that he had lost his mother twice, once when he was a child and again when he was seventeen.

Paul McCartney was also no stranger to tragedy. As the group pauses reflectively outside his small childhood family home, we are informed that his mother died of breast cancer when he was just fourteen. She would later come back to soothe him in his dreams as ‘Mother Mary’ in his haunting ballad, “Let It Be.” Paul and John wrote over 100 songs in the front room of the house. Paul’s father, James, complained that the ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ in “She Loves You” sounded too informal, and should be changed to ‘yes, yes, yes.’ John replied, “When’d you ever hear anyone from Liverpool say ‘yes?”’

The Long and Winding Road

We pass the school where John still holds the record for the lowest report card in his class, and eventually stops at St. Peter’s Church Hall. This is perhaps the most historic meeting place in rock history.

A friend of John’s took Paul to see John and his Quarry Men skiffle group play a summer show at the church. After their set, John asked Paul, ‘What did ya think of me band?’ Paul replied that John’s guitar was out of tune and that he didn’t know all the song’s lyrics. (Lennon had a secret; he had to pay a neighbor to tune his guitar.) Paul played a word-perfect cover of “Be Bop a Lula” for him, and John was so impressed that he asked him to join the band. Paul requested that his younger friend, George, be allowed to join too, but John was concerned that he was too young and would not attract ‘the birds.’ Eventually John relented after George began to idolize him, following him everywhere he went.

The tour is so detailed that it even stops at the bus stop where Paul and George first met. Paul climbed the stairs to the top of the ‘double-decker’ and found the young George, with guitar case, sitting in the back. A friendship began.

George Harrison was born in a modest ‘two-up and two-down’ home on a small cul-de-sac. The most low key of the lads (his moniker was ‘the quiet Beatle’) his father, Harry, continued his career as a public bus driver even after the mop tops hit fame, often driving a bus load of fans trying to find where George lived. Harry never said a word.

Get Back to Where You Once Belonged

The bus meanders back to the city center and stops at Mathew Street, the sight of the Cavern Club. The area is no longer the delinquent warehouse district where the lads played 292 times from Feb ’61 to Aug 1963. It has now been developed into the Cavern Walks’ shops and offices, which includes the Beatles Shop, which claims to have the largest selection of Beatles merchandise in the world. Believe it or not, the Cavern was demolished in 1973 to provide a construction site for Liverpool’s new underground railway system. It was rebuilt in the exact location as close to the original as possible in the 90s, using bricks saved from the old building. While it may never completely recapture the magic of the original, it’s as close to the real Cavern that you will ever experience.

Get more information on the Magical Mystery Tour and Beatle Week

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