Filled with the Holy Spirit, a crowd of 350,000 waved their arms, broke into song and held banners on a chilly, breezy autumn day in Iowa.

That was the view the Rev. Robert "Bud" Grant had 30 years ago, looking over the shoulder of Pope John Paul II as he celebrated Mass at Living History Farms near Des Moines. Serving as the pope's miter-bearer, Grant arrived early and knew he was part of something historic, watching people walking for miles down the freeway to get to the Mass.

"It was just a day of goose bumps," Grant said of the Mass that occurred 30 years ago Sunday. The Diocese of Des Moines is celebrating the anniversary with a series of events this weekend, including a symposium called "What God Has Given and Human Hands Have Made," touching on the pontiff's homily of agriculture and environmentalism.

Grant will speak on the topic of environmental ethics and rural America at the symposium Saturday.

Three decades later, the goose bumps still linger with people, whether they were within arms' reach or were hundreds of yards away, whether they were priests, nuns or a lay teacher or a young child.

"You got a very strong sense of the unity of the church, and the diversity of the church as well," said Corinne Winter, professor of theology at St. Ambrose University, Davenport. She was teaching at a Catholic high school in Gilbertville when the pope visited. "It confirmed the vitality that every local community is important to the church."

The Mass brought Rome to the heartland and gave the pope a sense of middle America.

"It was an amazing feeling to be part of hundreds of thousands of people, and here in Iowa," said the Rev. Drake Shafer, pastor of St. Ann's Catholic Church in Long Grove who served as chaplain of students at St. Ambrose in 1979. "There was something special about being there and being surrounded by Midwesterners."

Sister Marcia Costello, of Humility of Mary, called the event "reverential, peaceful and inspiring."

"It was a very beautiful, moving day," she said.

Grant recalled a moment during the Mass that moved him. The young pope, with hundreds of thousands of people before him, during a prayer that is usually said, "your unworthy servant" referring to the celebrant, changed the words.

"My ears were tuned to what he would say, and he asked to 'pray for me your "most" unworthy servant,' " Grant said. "I thought, there are 300,000 people here to see him, but I realized it was absolutely brilliant.

"It is never about a man or one person; it isn't about a cult of personality," he said. "It is about celebrating Jesus Christ. We didn't come there to see the pope, we came there to celebrate Christ."

The day started cold and damp, but as the helicopter bearing the pope set down, the sun broke through the clouds.

"A lighting technician couldn't have planned it better," Sister Marcia said.

Arnie and Mary Wieser of Davenport were living on a small acreage that shared a property line with Living History Farm. They hosted about 200 family and friends the night before the Mass. The night before, the Wiesers' property was a place of song. The next day, they walked about a half-mile to the site of the Mass.

"It was inspiring and surprising for the magnitude of it," Arnie Wieser said. "People just kept coming."

Among those who stayed at the Wiesers' was the Rev. Jeff Belger, who was 11 years old at the time. He and his parents and four brothers traveled from Burlington, Iowa. He is now assistant at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City.

He remembered the chill and how they battled it.

"There were a lot of jumping jacks and running around," he said. "It was not typical Mass behavior."

Still, the weight of the moment wasn't lost on Belger or his brothers.

"You could feel the importance my family put on it," he said. "(The pope) is coming from Rome and my family is coming from Burlington. It was powerful, walking in a sea of people."

Sister Corrine Foley, of the Humility of Mary, was at St. Pius in Urbandale when the pope's visit was announced. She watched the planning, then followed the Mass from about 600 yards away, but that was the right place, considering the chill.

"We were with Lutherans," Sister Corrine said. "They brought coffee."

She knew one of the altar boys who served at the Mass and the man who built the cross behind the altar. She keeps those memories close to her heart. Sister Corrine saw John Paul II another time, in Phoenix, Ariz., and though she was closer to the pontiff then, it was different.

"It didn't have nearly the feeling and unity we had in Des Moines," she said.

The chill is gone, and Belger has now been to four papal events, but the Mass in his home state sticks with him. "I think it means more to me now than it did then," he said. "It was important for us to go out of our way and be uncomfortable for a while.

"He brought a message that was particular to Iowans, too, that was about the environment and being stewards of the earth."

Events for 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II visit

Today

• Interfaith Prayer Service, Living History Farms, Urbandale, 5 p.m.
• Symposium, "What God has Given and Human Hands Have Made," Dowling Catholic School, 1400 Buffalo Road, West Des Moines, opening events, 7:30 p.m. Cost of registration is $25.

Saturday

(All events at Dowling Catholic School)

• Morning Prayer, 8:30 a.m.
• Discussion on Catholic social justice teaching, featuring John Carr, of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and LaVon Griffieon, an Ankeny farmer, 9 a.m.
• Discussion on opportunities and challenges in agriculture, featuring Dr. Ken Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation; Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture; Matt Liebman, Iowa State University agronomist; and Ron Rosmann, a Shelby County farmer, 10:20 a.m.
• U.S. Sen. Michael Johanns, former USDA Secretary and governor of Nebraska, 12:50 p.m.
• Discussion on environmental ethics and rural America, featuring the Rev. Robert Grant, professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, and students, 2 p.m.
• Call to action, featuring Jim Ennis, executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 3:10 p.m.
• Mass, 4 p.m.