In Houston you don’t have to buy books about miracles. Here, people believe in them.

Houston Catholic Rajana Sardana described the moment she saw late Pope John Paul II.

“Before he comes out of the window the rain stops and even the sun came out.  It was a shocking experience for me,” Sardana said. “He came to the window, he waved his hand and everybody saw him.”

So it’s no wonder some Houston Catholics plan to travel to Washington D.C. next week to see Pope Benedict XVI.

“You can see it on television, you could even see it on live feed, but to actually be there, to feel the community of responders,” the Dean of Arts and Sciences at St. Thomas University Dominic Aquila said.

The dean from the University of St. Thomas and his son will be among the catholic academics welcoming the spiritual leader to America.

“To be close to the Holy Father and to celebrate the Holy Eucharist is going to be the highlight of the trip,” Justin Aquila, the dean’s son, said.

It has been a month of highlights for Houston Catholics who just celebrated the dedication of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

This will be the first time Pope Benedict XVI visits the U.S. and he is bringing a special message.

“About the great faith tradition that we have, to speak I think about the accomplishments that the Catholics in the United States have done,” Cardinal Daniel Dinardo said.

Of course, most Catholics will only read about the pope or see pictures of his visit.

“I would love to see him,” Sardana said.

But Sardana says she doesn’t have to see to believe.