As millions of people watched the total solar eclipse on April 8, most were in awe of the celestial event that brought nighttime for a few minutes to places in the path of totality, including the Diocese of Cleveland.
People gathered in their yards, at parks, in schoolyards, parish parking lots, at Camp Christopher in Bath and at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe. Fortunately, the rain and clouds moved out, leaving a warm, sunny spring day that was perfect for viewing the once-in-a-lifetime event in our area.
Bishop Edward Malesic and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost joined faculty, staff and seminarians from Borromeo and Saint Mary seminaries and a guest, Bishop Bill Joensen, bishop of De Moines, Iowa. Bishop Malesic and Bishop Joensen were seminary classmates in the late 1980s at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
(See photo gallery above.)
The three bishops donned their protective eclipse glasses to gaze at the sun as it was covered completely by the moon.
“It was a spectacular display of celestial splendor,” Bishop Malesic said. “The total eclipse reminded me that God uses creation to delight us with the beauty and power of all he has made. It also was a reminder that the darkness never lasts. Light always overcomes darkness and Jesus’ Resurrection always overcomes death. It was a wonderful afternoon.”
At Camp Christopher, a ministry of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, more than 130 people from all over the eight-county diocese, elsewhere in Ohio and several other states registered for the eclipse watch event. They were guaranteed a parking spot, eclipse glasses, lunch and plenty of space to view the event.
Olivia Mackey, camp director, was on hand with some camp and Catholic Charities staff and volunteers. She called the event a success.
“We had our kitchen staff prepare pulled pork, hot dogs, potato salad, chips and green salad for lunch,” Mackey said. Guests were invited to eat in the camp dining hall or take their food outside onto the newly constructed dining hall porch or elsewhere on the grounds.
Clusters of people gathered on the spacious lawns and around Lake Marian. Children had plenty of room to run, play games and explore the grounds of the camp, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
People from Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and Delaware were among the out-of-state visitors who joined the watch party.
Matt, a software engineer and an amateur astronomer from Annapolis, Maryland, said he was searching for places in the path of totality to view the eclipse. Originally, he was in the North Canton area but as the weather forecast improved, he decided to move further north. While searching the Akron area for eclipse events, he found the Camp Christopher listing and registered.
“This is great,” he said, as he monitored data on a laptop in his car. Outside the vehicle, he had a telescope and camera with solar protection set on a sturdy tripod. He kept checking the sun and was excited as the moon began to slide over the sun.
As the eclipse neared just before 2 p.m., people donned their glasses and scanned the sky. Some remarked they could tell the temperature was dropping and they noticed it was growing darker. By 3:02 p.m., the breeze was noticeably cooler and by 3:06 p.m., it looked like dusk was settling in. Those looking at the sun through their eclipse glasses reported seeing only a small sliver of the sun as the moon moved through.
Eclipse watchers at Camp Christopher were hushed, eyes trained on the sky as they took in the experience. Some remarked that they “were amazed at the awesomeness of God” and how great a being he is.
Some people grabbed a jacket or sweater at 3:08 p.m., since the temperature had dropped nearly 10 degrees in just a few minutes. By 3:10 p.m., it was quite dark and lights with sensors were triggered to turn on around the camp’s main path. Totality arrived at 3:13:45 p.m., lasting 3 minutes and 49 seconds. The eclipse concluded at 4:29 p.m.
Bright sunshine and warmer temperatures returned – until the regular sunset occurred.
As the watch party broke up about 4 p.m., people continued to talk about the experience.
“It’s something I’ll never forget and probably will never see again,” one person said.