NEW YORK (CNS) -- The line for ticket-holders to the papal Mass at Madison Square Garden snaked south from the venue on Seventh Avenue, west onto 23rd Street, north on Eight Avenue and then east onto 28th Street.

Although movement was glacial and the journey took two hours, participants from throughout the metropolitan area took the wait in stride, for the most part.

One Massgoer, Gail Gabriele Molloy said, "Just being on the line is a parish, too."

Molloy, a retired Catholic school teacher from Holy Trinity Parish in Breezy Point, in the borough of Queens, said her faith was formed in a large family whose activities were centered on their parish. She and her husband, John, have recently returned to their home that was devastated in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy.

While noting John also was celebrating a new pair of knees, Molloy told Catholic News Service: "We're Catholics and we believe in the church and its principles. Francis is the leader and we would love to hear what he's going to say."

Joseph Warshaw of St. Joseph Nepomucene Parish in Bohemia figured his mother, Diane, would like to come, and applied for tickets. "But I needed it, too. I'm off drugs for four years and I need hope in my life. I need something like this to say, 'Hey, Joe, keep going!'" he said.

Ana Luisa Ortega arrived in the United States from Colombia twice in the 1970s. The first time, she said, she was undocumented. The second time, her status was regularized because of the U.S. birth of her son. Mother and son, from Saint Bartholomew Parish in Elmhurst, in Queens, scored last-minute tickets from a friend.

"I'm feeling very lucky," Ortega said. "I expect the pope will give a message of hope that the world needs. If you have hope, we can live in peace," she said.

"If this line represents the people who are for love and harmony in the world, it makes me hopeful. I can't stop smiling," Marie Pereira said.

The Brazilian-born Pereira studied in Argentina when Pope Francis was a priest there in the 1960s. She did not know him, but feels close to him. "He's humble and cuts through the intimidation of the hierarchy and he became like one of us," she said.

Pereira attends St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan. "With the same church and without changing anything major, Pope Francis has moved it to such a positive point. I see people happy."

Her daughter Gabriela said, "My husband says I have issues with authority, but I'm drawn to this pope. My confirmation name is Francesca for St. Francis of Assisi. Francis is the Robin Hood of popes, with all he's done for forgiveness, opening up the church and getting back to the idea of loving people," she said.

"He wants people to think and make decisions, to be mindful and not do things because someone told us," Gabriela Pereira told CNS.

Erin McMahon and her daughter Emma came to the line from St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Shrub Oak. They were on the waiting list for tickets at their parish and jumped at the opportunity. It was Emma's idea to enter the lottery.

As McMahon looked skyward to photograph a rainbow, she said, "I may not have this opportunity again in my lifetime. I want to hear the pope's message," she said.

At Madison Square Garden, archdiocesan priests were hearing confessions in lanes normally reserved for ticket-buyers.

Msgr. Edmund Whalen was finishing his fourth hour at the Spanish-language line.

"People are wonderful," he said. "They're talking about how Pope Francis brought them back to the church. They say God accepts them as they are, and I keep hearing, 'I feel like I belong.'"

Msgr. Whalen is the principal of Msgr. Farrell High School in Staten Island. He said, "Students are on fire with the idea this pope is saying simple stuff and we're all basically good. They see in him hope."

"Kids love service and when the pope spoke about that at St. Patrick's (Cathedral) last night, they ate it up. Their enthusiasm from his enthusiasm is infectious," Msgr. Whalen said.