Day Eight - Rome

Another wonderful day! Although there were few scheduled activities for the day, it once again has been memorable and uplifting. We began the day with an early Mass at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, one of the most beautiful of the smaller churches in Rome. Located just around the corner from St. Peter's Square, the inside of the church is decorated with many colorful frescos, paintings, and sculptures. We were able to celebrate Mass at the main altar in the church just with our group - our tour escort, Mary, said that she has never had a group that has been able to have their own private Mass at the main altar in this church, so it was quite special. Following Mass, we made the short walk to St. Peter's Square for the weekly General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Since we got their fairly early, we were able to have seats in the front, left-hand section of the square. During the hour-and-a-half wait before the start of the audience, the square gradually filled with Catholics from all over the world. Near us, there was a family from Massachusettes stationed with the military in Germany; a parish group from Pamplona, Spain; and a group from Italy. It was a beautiful day in Rome - blue skies with some white clouds and temperatures in the upper 70s - so it was fairly comfortable sitting in the square waiting for the General Audience to begin.

Around 10:30, Pope Benedict entered the square on his open-air papal jeep to great applause. He passed through many sections of the crowd, although not ours, but we were able to have decent views once he arrived in the front of the square. The audience began with a reading from a Psalm in several languages, followed by the Holy Father's weekly catechetical talk. This week, he remarked on the end of the Year of St. Paul, the beginning of the Year for Priests, and today's feast of St. John the Baptist, making a connection between the three saints celebrated (St. John Vianney for the Year for Priests) and how they completely gave their lives to Christ. The talk was in Italian, but the Holy Father later gave a summary in several languages, including English. After the talk, representatives of several major language groups spoke to the Holy Father and introduced groups from their language - French, German, English, Spanish, Polish, and Italian. In the English speaking section, the priest speaking specifically welcomed the group from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany, Indiana - we cheered and the Holy Father waved at us. Most of the group did not know that we would be announced, so this was a pleasant suprise. Following all of the announcements, the Holy Father began the singing of the Our Father in Latin, and then gave his Apostolic Blessing to those present, to their family members at home, and upon all religious articles that people had brought to be blessed.

At this point, most people thought the General Audience was over, and so they began to leave. But our tour escort told us that it is not, and that we should make our way to the very front left-hand section, which is where the Holy Father leaves the sqaure after greeting bishops, dignitaries, and newly married couples. There were many people to greet, so it took a while for the Holy Father to finish - but we persevered and waited, most of us in the second or third row of people behind the barrier. When he finished the greetings, the Holy Father got back into his open-air papal jeep, which took him down from the platform area and directly in front of our section before leaving the square. We were no more than 10 feet away from the Holy Father - he was literally right in front of us, waving and smiling as he left St. Peter's Square - a very moving and unforgettable experience!

Just this morning could have been a full day, and so this afternoon we had free time to explore the evening however we wanted. The bus took us to a central point in the historic center of Rome, near the Trevi Fountain, and smaller groups went off throughout the city for the afternoon. Of those who have returned to the hotel, they visited the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Church of St. Agnes in Agony, the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the Spanish Steps, and much more. This evening, dinner is on our own - some are planning on checking out a local trattoria in the neighborhood of the hotel that our tour escort recommended. And, of course, many of us are sampling the best Roman dessert - gelato! After a more relaxed evening, tomorrow we continue our pilgrimage to the great Basilicas of Rome and move forward in the Footsteps of St. Paul.