The "Regular Guys" at the Amalfi Coast with Fr. Carola--Part I

We arrived early in the morning in Salerno, near Amalfi.

Yes, it is 2012. Yes, it has been nearly a year since I left for Rome and eight months since I've been back in the USA.  So yes, this is late.  Nevertheless, the events are still fairly fresh in my mind and the pictures help me recall many of the memories to fill in the gaps.

So, I use 'regular guys' and not 'laymen' in the title because, as Dr. Coulter reminded us, not even the seminarians are ordained so we are still all laymen.  'Guy-men' was a title discussed too, but it also seems a little redundant.  Anyway, without further ado, here is my blog about our day on the Amalfi Coast with Fr. Carola:

The side of the mountains along the Amalfi Coast.

John, Peter D., Minh, and I woke up at around 5:20 am or so to get to the Lepanto Metro stop.  We met Fr. Carola at Termini and, with plenty of time, jumped on a rather nice train down to Salerno, going through Napoli (Naples).  We got there at about 8:15 and had plenty of time to get to the harbor to hop on the boat to get to Amalfi.  There was a line, so Fr. Carola told us to wait in line where we would get on the boat.  It took awhile for him to get our tickets, because some Italian lady kept arguing with the ticket booth people.  So as the ferry came, and was actually close to leaving because it was filling quickly, I turned back and saw Fr. Carola running at us with his habit blowing behind him!  It was pretty funny to see.

Welcome to Amalfi with the Cathedral rising on the right.

Fortunately, we were able to get on the ferry and took the 30 minute passage along the coast on the Mediterranean Sea to Amalfi.  It was such a nice, sunny, warm day, but the breeze as we sat on the top of the crowded, double-decker ferry was fairly chilly.  It was actually pretty funny--Fr. Carola described the cliffs of the coast as "Jurassic Park", and he was spot-on, too.  I was listening to Fr. Carola converse with some Italians and then with a couple French ladies--a man of many surprises!  Who knew that he was fluent in French?  And then as the boat pulled in to the dock it I noticed the water was so clear and looked so pure it looked perfectly drinkable.  And I did consider drinking it, with the bottled water being pretty expensive.

The steep steps up to the cathedral.

We were able to look around for a little bit before ascending the steep stairs to the Cathedral of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Amalfi.  By the 13th century, Amalfi was an important commercial center for Italy and its prominence meant that it should have the relics of a renown saint.  So, after the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders , they brought some of the relics of St. Andrew to Amalfi.  Normally, there would have been a three Euro fee to get in and tour the Cathedral and museum (though free if attending Mass), Fr. Carola got us in for free because a) we were going to Mass celebrated by Fr. Carola in the Cappella della Riconciliazione, b) Fr. Carola is fluent in Italian, and c) it's Fr. Carola, and he has connections.  The chapel, which remains gated except for during Mass there, had relics from many saints, including St. Gregory the Great--no big deal of course.  And what was funny is that the two French ladies that Fr. Carola had befriended on the boat attended the Mass.

La Cappella della Riconciliazione

After Mass we went down to La Piazza del Duomo and sat at a table by a cafe, where I ordered a cappuccino for the first time, and it was actually pretty good--despite how much it cost.  But, like Fr. Carola said, "You're not paying for the food and drink but for the seat."  And it's true. It was awesome just sitting in the sun, watching all the action going on in the square.  We were there for close to an hour, and then we moved on to a little shop to buy our lunch.  I got a pretty simple (but delicious) sandwich with fresh bread and some meat and cheese, as did the others, and we made our trek up the mountainside.

Lots of action in La Piazza del Duomo!

On each side of the road in the city below were shops full of lemons and lemon products, for which Amalfi is well-known.  Some of those lemons were HUGE!  I mean, some were about the size of a medium-sized football.


The narrow streets wound their way up a fairly steep slope and to our left and under us ran a river, which flowed from higher up in the mountain.  In addition to the lemons, the area was also home to a number of paper mills, which have since gone out of business, but their ruins remain, which are really cool.

What a sight...and so many lemons.

The mountains had sheer rock faces, and they had been terraced to accommodate all the lemon trees.  Many of the trees had been covered with green tarp to keep out the birds, but they were punctured with holes to let in light and rain.  The sight was absolutely amazing, and with the sun beating down, it was an absolutely perfect day as we wound our way up what had become a narrow path, which passed  small houses that rested on the ever-steepening slope.


That's enough for now, but I'll continue this in a second part soon...I hope.

Around Town

    So, while I write this in mid-October (and now because I want to keep track of how long it is taking me to write this down, I will keep that and add that I am working in mid/late November), my mind is starting to become slightly hazy on some of the details, but I will do my best to piece together the events from my memory, emails, and pictures.



    On May 11th, the Coulter family (sans Maddie) departed for the US, since the did not have an extension to stay beyond the maximum allowed time of 90 days in Italy, and thus the breakup of the Bernardi family began, and soon Matt Slattery would leave to go back home to Sarah.  It was a Wednesday, so we all said our goodbyes and left for class with Dr. Lev.  After that, we had a lot of free time, because we normally would have had Dr. Coulter's class and then a break between that and Italian, so we had an extraordinary amount of time on our hands (scary, huh?).
    At that point I still hadn't been to Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four great basilicae of Rome, nor had I been to Santo Pietro in Vinculi (St. Peter in Chains), and Matt Slattery wanted to see the St. Mary Major one more time and hadn't yet been to St. Peter in Chains, so we headed out for each on a pilgrimage of sorts.  Fortunately for us, St. Mary Major was only about 20 minutes away, and St. Peter in Chains was not too much farther away.
    We were always able to see the high tower of the basilica, but until then I hadn't gone down the road to actually visit it, but as I got closer and closer, I was filled with more and more awe, and what I saw was only the back of the basilica.  So we went around, where there was a pillar with Mary on top, facing the facade of the great building, covered in travertine, added during the Grand Tour, around the middle of the 18th century.  I can't remember if I said anything on the Grand Tour, so I'll do so now.
    It had become quite popular by the late 17th century for those in northern Europe to learn the classical languages and about ancient history (namely, that of Rome) and antiquities from Rome.  These highly educated persons would come to Rome not as pilgrims, but as historians and sightseers.  In reaction to this, the popes desired to "improve" upon the already magnificent basilicae around Rome, as well as various other projects (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc.), so as to impress these educated tourists, hopefully garnering a positive report that modern Romans were not just a bunch of illiterate, uncultured yokels.
    So, as it pertains to this story, the relatively new facade of Santa Maria Maggiore now covers up beautiful ancient mosaics, so you now have to crane your neck just to get a glimpse of them.  Fortunately, however, I was able to get one good picture of a mosaic of Christ.  The inside is absolutely massive, yet I'm sure that three or four St. Mary Majors could fit comfortably inside St. Peter's.  Contained in both sides of the transept are a great chapel for the Mass (left) and chapel for Eucharistic adoration (right).  It is a typical Roman-type basilica (built in the 4th century), in that the roof is not vaulted, but flat, in the typical Roman style.  There are huge colonnades on either side, just like at St. John Lateran, leading up to the altar, and there are still 5th century mosaics in the interior, particularly in the apse.  Although it seems like a mostly empty space, the side chapels and art more than make up for that feeling.
    At the point where the transept and the nave meet is a mini crypt, as well as a crystal reliquary, supposedly containing some of the wood from the cradle of Christ.  St. Jerome, the great translator of the Bible from Greek into Latin (known as the Vulgate), is also buried there.
    From there, we made the trek to San Pietro in Vinculi (St. Peter in Chains), which is actually pretty plain, and even the facade is unremarkable (by that I just mean that it doesn't really jump out at you), but is neat nonetheless  (I say 'trek' because it was just that, walking in unknown territory up and down stairs and down winding streets, and I am pretty sure that a bird had freshly pooped when I grabbed a handrail).  The inside is mostly white and is reminiscent of a hospital ward, though you could still see, because the church has undergone several renovations, where the new and the old met (I believe the facade is old, and there are ancient beams and stone visible). To the right, near the intersection of the nave and transept, is a set of statues and background, which, I thought, was reminiscent of the Trevi Fountain.  And apse was beautiful (as is every apse in Rome), and just about the only other notable thing there (aside from the Eucharist of course) was the set of chains that supposedly bound St. Peter. Whether or not that's the case is up in the air, but it doesn't matter since a) the chains are from that era, and b) we are not worshiping the chains.

    When Matt and I said our prayers and had sufficiently taken in all we could see of the church, we went back to the Ange, passing the Coliseum one last time, and we were stopped by some college-age American girl who was passing out stopping for fliers for some sketchy bar crawl. We humored her and said, 'maybe' but thought 'hell no, we would be killed instantly'. The we got some gelato along the way, and Matt was kind enough to pay for mine with some tickets he had left over and would not be using since he would be leaving soon.  Very generous of ya, Matt!  Wow, that was just an awesome day--it was warm, sunny, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Another day in paradise, as we relaxed in the garden of the Ange, waiting for another rip-roaring day with Anna Maria in Italian class!
    I should be posting on my trip to the Amalfi Coast with John, Peter, Minh, and Fr. Carola, but we'll just have to see if/when that happens.

Maggio a Roma--Race for Vocations

Bernardi after the race.

On May 7th, in the year of our Lord two thousand and eleven, I accomplished something that I never thought I would do--I ran/jogged/walked a 5K.  Yes, my 6-2, 195 pound frame made it 3.2 miles around Rome, via walking, jogging, and running.  Now, I would definitely not do this without some great impetus, and this great impetus was the Race for Vocations.  "What is the Race for Vocations?" you may ask.  Well, I'm here to tell you. Or rather, instead of trying to read my rambling words, you could watch this short video of Tyler Tenbarge, a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Evansville, and studying at Simon Brute Seminary, and with us for the semester in Rome, explain just what it is: http://www.archindy.org/vocations/race-video.html. So we in Rome, in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Indianapolis, started our 5K at the same time as they did back in Indianapolis (we at 2pm, and they at 8am ET).  It was one of the neatest experiences of which I have ever been a part--running for a true cause with others made the universality and connectivity of the Church even more real, if that were possible.  So, this is the route that we ran, and the route, which makes a figure-8, actually ended somewhere on or before Ponte Matteoti: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Lungotevere+delle+Armi&daddr=41.91864,12.47028+to:Lungotevere+Flaminio+to:Lungotevere+Maresciallo+Cadorna+to:Lungotevere+delle+Navi+to:Lungotevere+delle+Armi&hl=en&ll=41.916298,12.465491&spn=0.017276,0.042272&sll=41.91815,12.465148&sspn=0.017276,0.042272&geocode=FUuSfwId9kS-AA%3BFbCgfwIdCEi-AClXd5Ev8GAvEzEBJWB7nk8JEw%3BFRbDfwIdQiS-AA%3BFUPKfwIdFhq-AA%3BFZiffwId-E2-AA%3BFUGQfwIdQkW-AA&vpsrc=6&gl=us&dirflg=w&mra=dme&mrsp=5&sz=15&via=1&z=15  Afterward, we all had a great feast of burgers, brats, and dogs, cooked up by Dr. Coulter et al., and the ladies of Bernardi (Monica, Kelsey, Maddie, Katie, Maria, et al.) prepared the desserts and salads.  So, after it was all said and done, it was an awesome day, and it all ended with a great meal with even greater company.

Maggio a Roma--Beatification and Bernardi Talent Show

Night of JP II's Beatification--the line is about a mile long.

It was in Italian class that I asked Anna Maria, whilst learning the months of the year in Italian, "So, does Joe DiMaggio mean 'Joe of May?'"  Needless to say, I think she was a little confused, though she knew who he was.  Anyway, May started off with a bang, with the late now-Blessed Pope John Paul II being beatified on Sunday the 1st.  For the record, I was in Rome for it, though I cannot say with too much certainty where I was at the time he was officially beatified.  I believe I was in Mass, though, at Santa Maria del Popolo.  You may wonder, "Greg, perche? I mean, you were right there, why didn't you go? There was even an all-night vigil the night before!"  Well, let me clue you in as to why I did not go (though I think the Moosbruggers and, maybe Minh, went, despite having traveled with me from Austria).  1.  I had just gotten back from Austria/Germany the night before the vigil, and, after nearly 36 hours travelling or being in an overheated hotel room, I just wanted to relax.  Secondly, I was sick of Italian crowds, and did not want to get caught up in the 1,000,000+ crowd of Italians, Polacks, Americans, and whoever might have decided to show up for the event, in hot and humid weather.  It was a grand sight, I'm sure, but I was able to watch most of the Mass online from the comfort of my own chair and a nice ceiling fan to boot.  Besides, I only go to the big events (i.e. canonizations).  Later that night though, some of us wanted to see JP II's casket, which had been exhumed for the event, and is now in his tomb, which is now on the right side, in the main basilica, in the Chapel of St. Sebastian.  What we found, however, was a[n Italian] line, which, if stretched from end to end, would have been at least a mile long, if not longer.  So, not wanting to wait for several hours, we decided to bag the idea and head back for Bernardi.  That was kind of disappointing, or at least it would have been had I not been walking back in Rome, a little town in which you don't mind an "unsuccessful" journey.

    On May 5th, all of us at Bernardi expected either to be performing in or watching the Bernardi's Got Talent show, but what us men did not expect was something that I will not easily forget.  The women of Bernardi made and served us guys (and ate with us) an absolutely great meal of pasta, salad, and gelato.  In addition, they made each of us a place mat (which I still have) with truly meaningful and affirming comments, and they picked a saint for each of us, along with a logo, which they felt represented us--my saint was St. Sebastian, and my logo was the Notre Dame leprechaun (both were very apt, in my opinion).  As Jonathan Huber put it, they made us "feel like kings".   It was such a generous act, which I had never before seen, and may never see again; but to experience and receive so kind a gift as that, which truly made a great impression on me, was unbelievable.  There is really no other way to describe it than to say that the ladies of Bernardi Spring '11 are incredibly holy, charitable, and awesome.

    Afterward, we all went up to the salotto, where we witnessed great acts, ranging from the Coulter Family Band (complete with Dr. Coulter on the drum, aka the trash can), to Dan and Ephrem performing a dead-on impersonation of Smeagol/Gollum.  Other highlights were Paula's reading of her original poetry and Tyler's inspirational (if not thought-provoking) speech essentially on  why it's so awesome to be Catholic (no offense to those who are missing out).  I wish I had pictures of the night, but I didn't have my camera with me, and was too busy instructing others on the dangers of bicyclists (perhaps someone will upload them to Facebook--yes, I'm looking at you, Jodi Vasko).

Österreich Continued...

The next day, Brady, Katie, Maria, Minh, and I, after playing some cards on the balcony and getting a bite to eat at a local restaurant, decided to explore a little bit around Schoppernau and the surrounding towns, and we ended up hiking up one of the mountains.  At first, it was a warm, sunny day, as we made our way up the mountain.  It was kind of steep, as we wound our way up, zig-zagging up the path, so everyone except for Minh picked up a walking stick to help us along.  It took probably an hour and a half to get up the mountain, though we didn't get to the top, where there was still snow.  Speaking of which, Minh and I were hoping to do some skiing, but due to an abnormally warm winter, all the snow (aside from that at the very top) was gone.  Anyway, due to the fickle European weather, we got caught in a rain/hailstorm, which was made worse by the fact that it got a lot colder.  We stopped intermittently under the cover of the trees, but made it up to a tiny hamlet that seemed to be shuttered for the summer, or at least for a while.  We tried to find some shelter, and briefly stopped in at a tiny chapel, but only stayed under its porch for awhile, because the door was locked.  The views, as soon as the rain and mist cleared, were absolutely breathtaking, and being able to once again breathe fresh air outside of Rome was an even greater bonus.  We soon made our way down the mountain, which took half as long as climbing up, and as we got lower, it began to get warmer and sunnier again, and we were able to dry off.  Later that night, we continued to celebrate Brady and Katie's engagement by going to the Moosbrugger Cafe, and Stefan, who speaks English well, welcomed us with "some" beverages and a little food.  Unfortunately for Brady, however, he had to get up early to get to the airport to fly home, because classes at St. Thomas were still ongoing.
    The next day we spent sleeping and relaxing, so not much really happened, and the next day it was raining for a good portion of the day, so other than wandering around Schoppernau a little bit and getting lunch at a local restaurant, we didn't do much until the evening.  We were able to go to Mass (in German of course) that evening at the local church, which was stunning because it seemed to be old, yet was well-maintained, with beautiful paintings and ornately-carved wood works. Afterward, we all went the house of their relative, Lily, the other English-speaker in the town, for dinner.  I can't remember exactly what it was, but I believe that it resembled something like macaroni and cheese, but with potatoes, and without the cheese.  I do remember that it tasted great, however, and was really filling.  We finished off with some schnapps, and looked through an album with many fascinating photos capturing her family's history in the town, as she recounted many stories.  The really neat thing is that there is a replica (not exact, but close) of Lily's house, called Rößle, in Kohler, WI (I really wish I had gotten a picture of it--dang).
    The next morning, we got up a little earlier, had breakfast, bade farewell to Walter and Marlene, and then hopped on the bus to take the hour and a half ride down to Dornbirn, where we waited for our ICE train, which we took to Frankfurt Airport, whence we caught a taxi to our hotel.  Although it was a long day for all of us, Katie, Minh, Maria, and I went out in search of somewhere to eat, and the only reasonable place to eat was--an Italian restaurant.  The proprietors were even native Italians, and the one time we could have used our Italian outside of Italy, we didn't.  Oh well, that's the way it goes, but since Katie speaks fluent German, I guess we didn't need our "perfect" Italian skills anyway.
    So, the next day, our last in Germany/Austria, I caught a shuttle to the airport, picked up the car, drove back to the hotel, and picked everyone up to drive up to the Dusseldorf-Weeze airport.  I might have mentioned this before, but the RyanAir CEO is extremely stingy, and decides to have his planes fly out of the most far-flung airports, which explains why Minh and I flew into the Frankfurt-Hahn airport, and why we were flying out of Weeze.  Anyway, I got to check off one of my bucket list items by driving on the German Autobahn--much to the chagrin and fright of my four passengers (again, Katie, Maria, Minh, and Tim--I apologize for scaring you more than half to death).  But I only topped out at just over 180 kph, which equates to about 112 mph--don't worry, it was a perfectly sunny day, with barely a cloud in the sky, though there was some construction.  But that was easily THE quietest 3 1/2 hour car ride I've ever been on.  The important thing is that we got there in one piece in plenty of time, and I made a pit stop in the Netherlands as I filled the car up with gas.  Drive in three different countries in my lifetime? Check.  So, we killed some time playing some cards, as we waited for our plane, and we were the first ones at the gate.  We would have been the first ones on had there not been a half hour evacuation of the airport.  We were sitting there, and all of a sudden an alarm goes off, and a voice comes over the speakers, saying we need to leave.  So we went out and stood on the tarmac, but then came in after the fire/terrorist/whatever threat was cleared.  Other than that, however, there were virtually no issues getting back home to Rome and, eventually, Bernardi--fortunately, we were able to catch the last train to the Lepanto stop and walk home from there, getting back at about 930pm, completing our nearly 36-hour travel back to Rome, that had started at 10am the previous day in Schoppernau, Austria.

Welcome to Austria!

Although I am back stateside now, I will fill out the rest of my blog, just in case you're still interested in hearing more about my Euro-tripping.

A picture taken from the balcony of our room.

    On April 24, Easter Sunday, I was up at 5:30 am, and running on about four hours of sleep, Minh and I caught a taxi and headed to the airport for an 8:40 am flight to the Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.  What I didn't know, however, was that this airport is not the main Frankfurt airport, and we had to take a 1 1/2 hour shuttle ride to the Frankfurt train station, which ended up not even being the main station (we took the Metro to Frankfurt-Main).  From there we took the ICE train, leaving at 1:30 pm for Dorbirn, Austria, via Ulm and Lindau, Germany.  This was the fastest, and most expensive train, which topped out at about 280 km/hr, but was very quiet and comfortable.  We were able to see a lot of great countryside and farms along the way, but the day seemed to be a mixture of Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, and the Amazing Race.  We were literally running from train to train, as we had to switch twice, but by the grace of God we made it each time.  Once we got to Dornbirn, we took a 1 1/2 hour bus ride up the mountain to Schoppernau, a small mountain town in Austria.  Once we got there, Minh and I quickly saw why Maria and Katie wanted to go there--almost everyone had the surname Moosbrugger, and it was obviously where their ancestors were from.  Plus, "Moosbrugger" was on just about every restaurant or store in the town, which we found to be pretty humorous.

Katie and Maria, with their firework cake.

    After Minh and I got off the last possible stop in what we were hoping was Schoppernau, we started walking along the main road toward our bed and breakfast (or so we thought), though we turned out to be going in the opposite direction.  Luckily, as Tim, Maria, Katie, and Brady were eating dinner at a local restaurant, Maria randomly looked out the window and they all shouted for us, which was great because otherwise Minh and I would have walked to the farthest edge of town. After 14 hours of travel, we were finally where we needed to be.  Another cool surprise was that when everyone came outside of the restaurant, Katie showed us her engagement ring from Brady--he had proposed the day before--and we went to the Moosbrugger Cafe so that Minh and I could eat. We both got wienerschnitzel and fries and a bottle of Mohren Brau.  The Moosbrugger’s very distant relative, Stefan, seemingly out of the blue came out with two slices of cake, with a small firework on top, for Maria and Katie, although we all thought that he was bringing the cake out for Katie and Brady to celebrate their engagement.  He came running in with the slices of cake, set them down, and ran out with no word of explanation, so we just sat there 

A look at the fields and mountains of Austria.

    That was all pretty exciting, and after an hour or so of conversation, we went back to our B&B, Marlene's Haus, and I was able to sleep like a log, which was great, especially considering all the travel of the past day.

Holy Week in Rome

St. Peter's on Good Friday.

Alright, I was just kidding about blogging on Austria next, since I forgot about Holy Week.  A big group of us Bernardians went to the English College—don’t worry, it was Catholic, just the English counterpart of the North American College.  It’s the favorite church of the Coulters, so we followed them there for Holy Thursday Mass, which was celebrated in their “newer” church, which has distinctly Byzantine feel to it.  The Beatitudes are written in mosaics, in Latin, on either side of the nave, and there the backgrounds were all golden.  It was a truly beautiful church, and it had the sense of an ancient church, with a flat roof, columns, and two side aisles.  When the priests processed back to the old chapel with the Eucharist after Mass, the congregation followed, and we prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament for a few minutes.  It really was a very humbling and reverent experience, which set me up well for Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Looking at the back as the fire is lit.

On Good Friday, the whole group (minus those who were elsewhere) went to St. Peter’s Square to stand in line for about 2 ½ hours before the service (if you are ever in Rome for the Triduum and want to go, you will need a ticket—which is free—but you can just ask your bishop).  Waiting that long wasn’t too bad, especially in comparison to what it would be the next day, and we were all talking, keeping each other entertained.  When the gates did open, it was absolutely hilarious to see the nuns running to get a good spot along the aisle.  Just imagine a nun in her full habit flying in the wind behind her, booking it toward the entrance.  What was particularly special was not just being in St. Peter’s on Good Friday, but the fact that our seminarians were serving for Papa Bene.  They admitted that they didn’t do too much, but even so, just to be part of it would be an unforgettable experience.  Also, this was the most solemn and reverent Good Friday service to which I had ever been, and something that I won’t soon forget.

The Easter Vigil Mass was even more memorable (and seemingly almost twice as long).  Matt Slattery and I went to St. Peter’s Square at about 2:30 pm to wait for the gates to open at 7:30 pm, and then once we got in we waited until 9 pm for the Mass to start.  Now, it is really frustrating when you get there really early and you see others elbow their way in within an hour of the gates opening.  So, Matt and I kind of barricaded ourselves in and with those in “line” (I say that because it was more of a blob, and it only got worse when the time to enter drew nigh) we tried our best to keep intruders out.  We made friends, had some food, drank some water, and held each others’ spot in line when someone had to go to the bathroom.  Trust me—you cannot survive something like this unless you make some friends within the line.  Throughout the entire time there was this Polish girl who acted so innocently while she budged through all of us and tried to get her family in line as well.  Funny enough though, there was this Aussie from a high school group that pretty much did the same thing with about an hour and a half to go.  The difference, however, was that he was really funny and entertaining.  He was an interesting character too, as he knew more about the USA—at least our state capitals—than most Americans.  He also led those in the front of the line in singing several songs, entertaining everyone as it got down to about a half hour before the gates opened.  From “Don’t Stop Believin’” to “Land Down Under”, he kept the crowd going and singing along. He even knew “I’m Proud to be an American”.  Then he did the unexpected and sang the opening ditty from the Lion King, which was pretty much a shout but right on key.  The Italian/Vatican police were none too pleased, but they had bigger problems, like controlling a line with thousands upon thousands of people, which stretched almost the entire way around the square.

Easter Vigil, as the Gospel begins.

The Mass itself was extremely beautiful and powerful, and began with Pope Benedict lighting and blessing the fire as the basilica went dark.  Then came the procession to the front with many, many cardinals and bishops with their candles lit.  Just a quick rundown of the Mass: there was a lot of incense throughout the Mass, there were readings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, and German, and the Gospel was in Latin—pure gold.  Plus, there was a lot of chanting in Latin, which was cool as well.  The most amusing part of the Mass was when one of the monsignors (I think) said, in Latin, “Holy Father, I present to you…the Alleluia!”  It was a truly powerful experience to see so many faithful Catholics flock to the heart of the Catholic faith, and to celebrate the most important date on the Church calendar.  Plus, can you imagine what it was like not only to be fully received into the faith through Confirmation, but then to receive First Communion from Pope Benedict himself? Simply amazing.  I can fill in the other details later, but for now, I guess this will have to do.

Papa Bene after the Easter Vigil.

After Mass, I remembered that I had some Reese’s eggs from home—thanks, Mom—and I broke those out and some of us shared those, while still in St. Peter’s Basilica, which I thought would never happen.  It was a late night, as Mass got done at about 12:30 am, but we all went for gelato and then went back home.  It would have been even later, but Minh and I had to get up early to catch a cab to the airport to get to Austria, which, I guarantee, is where I will pick up next time.