Donald Trump is throwing himself a military parade in Washington, D.C. on June 14 to celebrate his 79th birthday. But he’s not the only one planning a major event that day.
The Vatican, through the Archdiocese of Chicago, has scheduled a massive public mass at the White Sox stadium on the exact same day. It’s being promoted as a day of “faith, unity, and community spirit,” and the timing couldn’t be more pointed.
The parade Trump is planning includes tanks, helicopters, and thousands of troops. According to the New York Times, it will feature 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker vehicles, 6,700 soldiers, 50 helicopters, 34 horses, two mules, and a dog. The Washington Post also reports that Washington, D.C.’s main airport will shut down for hours that day, delaying over 100 flights and affecting thousands of passengers.
“There’s a very kind of Kim Jong Un vibe to it,” MSNBC’s John Heilemann said Friday. “The streets are going to get all torn up. They’re going to be filling in potholes from the damage that gets done for months to come.”
But Heilemann pointed out something else: “Are you aware of the counterprogramming effort that’s taking place on the same day?”
He wasn’t talking about protests — but about the Vatican-backed mass in Chicago. While Pope Francis won’t be there in person, the event will feature a video message and a tribute to the former Chicago cardinal. Tickets were snapped up fast. Within a day, 20,000 seats were sold. By Friday, the remaining $5 tickets were gone. The event will be streamed live, though CatholicTV hasn’t confirmed full broadcast details yet.
MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire called it what it is: “A bit of counterprogramming.” Heilemann agreed, adding: “For America and Trump’s military parade in Washington, if you don’t live in Washington, that’s a television spectacle. If you don’t live in Chicago, the pope’s doing a video mass there at Rate Field. They’re both just TV shows. And, you know, that’s the definition of counterprogramming.”
It may not have been planned as a direct challenge, but the Vatican’s timing is impossible to ignore. As Trump rolls tanks through D.C., the Catholic Church will be packing a stadium in Chicago. One is a show of power. The other, a message of faith.
Either way, the spotlight just got split.
Watch the videos below from MSNBC:
