Il Papa

day 40  //  rome  //  florence

So late last night we found out that the Pope had appointed new cardinals this weekend which meant he was giving Mass today! I was in shock when I found out because he does Mass very rarely and I just couldn't believe I happened to be in town on one of those occasions. So one of my roommates, Kaitlyn (who also went to Catholic high school), and I woke up early so that we could quick pack up (we had to have our bags packed and stored downstairs), grab breakfast, and get to the Vatican as fast as we could so that we could get in line to hopefully get into St. Peter's Basilica where Mass was being held. We got there around 8:30 and Mass was at 10. The line was moving fast so we were really hopeful we would get in, but when we were nearing the front of the line, it stopped. We waited there for an hour as everyone who had tickets (we assumed they were like invitations given to the family of the cardinals, other priests and sisters, and people like that). We literally were 20 feet away from the gate. We were told that if after all the people with tickets got in and there was still room left, we would get in. Unfortunately there wasn't any extra room, so we did not get into the Basilica which was a bummer, but we ended up sitting in the very front row of the outdoor seating area and watched the Mass on a massive TV screen. We were taken by surprise when a herd of priests filed out to give the people outside Communion. We just assumed that we wouldn't get to receive it since we weren't in the church. But since we were right in the very front we were among the first to receive it. After that people came stampeding behind us, knocking over chairs with hands outreached for the closest priest in hopes of receiving Communion. It was chaos. I stood there in shock that I had just received Communion that was consecrated by the Pope. I looked up at the TV screen to see that the camera had zoomed in on a middle-aged man who was praying after receiving Communion as well. All of a sudden he put his head in his hands and starting crying. And even with all the chaos continuing to go on around me, I couldn't help it and I started crying too. When Mass ended, we turned around to see that the square had completely filled up with people all ready for the Pope to come out of his study window and give a blessing. We met up with a group of our friends who had arrived later than we had and together we made our way into the crowd until we had a good view of the window. At 12:00 on the dot he came out and I saw him for the first time in person. He began speaking and I couldn't help but realize how lucky I was to be in the situation right there right then. In the middle of his blessing he said, "For all the students residing in Italy, SALUT!" And again, tears. I simply could not fathom what was happening. He finished his blessing and closed his window. I had just sat outside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for Mass, received Communion consecrated by the Pope, and been blessed by the Pope himself - in person. What. Easily one of the best experiences of my life. The crowd started to make their exits and we left. We took the metro back to our hotel and went to lunch nearby at a Japanese/sushi restaurant. It was 15 euros for all you could eat. That meant any sushi rolls you wanted along with anything else. I got a seaweed salad and a couple different rolls and I was in heaven. I hadn't had sushi in forever, I had hardly eaten anything but Italian in forever, so I was loving it. After lunch we went back to the hotel, loaded our bags onto the bus, and commenced our bus ride back to Florence. I slept the whole way home and after 3 short hours we were back home. And I say home obviously meaning my temporary home away from home but this was the first time when I said to myself, "Wow. It's good to be home!" And that made me happy - that I could say that about this city halfway across the world. I dropped my bags off at my apartment before grabbing dinner with Heidi. Then I headed back to unpack and get ready for the week! 

(Don't worry - photos are coming!)

Front row seats!

Packed full!

Il Papa!