By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — He was a hit.
Fans flocked to retired major league slugger Sammy Sosa at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown after he joined thousands of other Catholic faithful to celebrate Palm Sunday.
"Normally I go to church at home, but since I'm in New York this weekend I thought I'd stop by," said Sosa, who along with Mark McGwire, famously broke Roger Maris' long-standing home run record in 1998.
"It was spectacular," said the former Chicago Cub as he posed for photos with fans after the noon mass at the church on Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, presided over by Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
In the Christian tradition, Palm Sunday marks the arrival of Jesus to Jerusalem where he was greeted warmly by residents who laid palm fronds along his path a week before his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
"It's very important because it's our celebration of Jesus," said Midtown resident Virginia Ceballos, 43, of the Holy Week.
Ceballos, who attends mass at St. Patrick's every Sunday, said she didn't mind the hordes of tourists recording and photographing the service at the landmark cathedral.
"Everybody was standing," she said. "It was just awesome."
An even bigger crowd is expected for Easter Sunday next week at St. Patrick's but worshippers will need tickets to attend the noon mass.
