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.