An Unforgettable Day—Part 1

Note: I’m writing and posting as I have time on our trip, so the posting dates do not correspond with the actual dates the events took place. For instance, I’m posting this on Wednesday, July 5, this actually happened on Sunday, July 1, 2012.

This day was so special, that I’m going to break the post up into two parts—Part 1: Day Two of the Vatican and Part 2: Euro Cup Championship Game.

We woke up early again to return to the Vatican before it was too hot and the lines too long to climb to the top of St. Peter’s dome (or Cupola). We only had to wait in the security line for about 15 minutes, and then we were able to walk right into the stairwell of the dome without waiting! We hiked to the top of the dome (the more than 500 steps felt like a piece of cake after climbing the Duomo in Florence and the steps in Cinque Terre) and took in the amazing views of the Vatican and Rome. Behind the church we saw the Vatican courtyards, gardens and museum. From the front we could also see down into St. Peter’s Square. All around we saw the sprawling city of Rome—with views as far as Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum.
We hiked back down the steps, which led us directly inside St. Peter’s Basilica. This worked out perfectly as it was now 10 a.m., and Mass would be held inside the church at 10:30. Thank goodness we were there 30 minutes early, as the pews quickly filled to the max and visitors were turned away to standing-room-only areas in the back.

I could not wrap my head around this—we were sitting in a pew inside St. Peter’s Basilica waiting for Sunday Mass to start. How is this happening to me?!?! This experience reminded me of just how blessed I am as I soaked in the setting around me and thanked God for making this possible.

This experience moved me to tears at several points. The first of which was watching the countless priests, bishops and cardinals proceed through St. Peter’s Basilica and up to the altar where Mass would be said in Latin. An all-male choir sang as the organ played, filling the walls around us with beautiful music. This felt like something so special, reserved for religious and world leaders, royalty, politicians, even celebrities, yet here we sat as part of the congregation. Unbelievable!

The guards gave us booklets so that we could follow along. While we had no idea what was being said, the words didn’t matter. Just being here in this space, surrounded by other visitors from all around the world, sharing in our faith together was incredibly powerful. The Prayers of the Faithful were read by priests in Italian, French and English, and the Sign of Peace was said in countless languages.

I was moved to tears again as we walked up to receive communion in front of the most gorgeous altar I’d ever laid eyes on. Taking communion in this space sent chills down my spine yet again. Mass soon commenced and the clergy proceeded out of the church just as they had entered.

Walking away, we saw nearly hundreds of people lined up in the back, craning their necks to catch a view. Knowing what we had just experienced brought tears to my eyes for the third time. I will remember this hour and half for the rest of my life!
As if this day hadn’t been special enough already, we exited the church at 11:55 a.m., only to find out that the Pope would give a blessing to the crowd gathered in the square at noon. We walked as quickly as we could to get a spot in the square, just below the window where the Pope would appear.

Right at 12 p.m., Pope Benedict XVI appeared in the window waving his hands to the crowd below. Groups of people were gathered waving their country’s flag and holding signs. I cannot find the words to describe just how surreal this experience was. The Pope was looking down near where we had just climbed a few hours earlier and now here we are hearing his blessing. He spoke for about 30 minutes (his voice booming over speakers in the square). He read the Gospel we had heard earlier in the Mass and then delivered a blessing in no less than 7 different languages. He said: “To my English-speaking visitors … we pray for all those in need of His healing touch. We pray for God’s blessings of wisdom, joy and peace.” (Kyle captured this on film, which I will post when we get back home.) Then, just as soon as he appeared, he was gone again.

What a mind-boggling, absolutely perfect day (and it was only 12:30)!

The Vatican Leaves Me Speechless

Today we woke up early to go on our tour of the Vatican. The tour was worth every penny as entering with a guide allowed us to skip the long lines (which were bigger than those at any amusement park or tourist attraction we’d ever seen). Inside the museum, the tour guide pointed out important pieces of art and explained the history of the church. The knowledge she shared was priceless, especially with so many paintings, tapestries, mosaics and statues to see, it was helpful to have a guide bring critical pieces to our attention. The long lines outside led to a completely packed museum inside, the force of the crowds pushed us forward from room to room.

Our tour guide led us out to a terrace overlooking the Vatican gardens and described the crucifixion of Saint Peter and how the church was built on his tomb. She then explained the frescoes that we would soon see inside the Sistine Chapel (since theoretically there should be no talking inside the Chapel—the guards have a hard time enforcing that and are constantly shushing the crowd). She described the fresco of “The Last Judgment” painted on the entire altar wall, the New and Old Testaments depicted along the interior walls, and the ceiling with the nine scenes from the book of Genesis, including the infamous “Creation of Adam.”

The museum tour lasted about one hour and led us directly into the Sistine Chapel. Stepping foot inside the room brought tears to my eyes. I had seen countless pictures of it before, but seeing how massive the painting of “The Last Judgment” is in person and knowing that these paintings were done more than 500 years ago was awe-inspiring. I felt chills run down my spine as I looked up to the ceiling and saw Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the other unbelievable masterpieces all around the room. We were able to spend about 10 minutes in the chapel soaking it all in. Later our guide told us that the Cardinals gather inside the Sistine Chapel to vote on the next Pope. Knowing that we just stood on the same ground as these religious leaders, Michelangelo and the Pope himself blew my mind.

Leaving the Sistine Chapel, our last stop was in St. Peter’s Basilica. As if my head wasn’t spinning already, stepping inside the church was an emotional, unforgettable experience. The sculptures, the mosaics, the architecture, and the all-around sense of history and piety of this place left me speechless.

Our tour guide showed us around the church, pointing out works of art and explaining history along the way. The tomb of Pope John Paul II now rests inside the church (the current Pope Benedict XVI moved him inside the church in 2011 when he was sainted), which again sent chills down my spine. We stopped and prayed here, which was truly an out-of-body experience.

The tour guide bid us farewell at this point, and we were on our own to explore the church. We took pictures and soaked in the sites. Then we found the Blessed Sacrament Chapel with a sign saying, “Only those who wish to pray may enter.” The chapel is small room within the church, so there was a short line where we had to wait to go inside. One impatient person in front of us walked out of the line, straight past the guard and tried to pull back the curtain to go inside the chapel. The guard stopped him, explaining that he must wait in line and wait for space to clear. The man began to argue with him, and soon another guy came out from behind the curtain. This guy said, “He’s with me!” as if this were a nightclub and you just had to come outside to get your friends past security. The guard again told the man that he must wait his turn, and the two men then angrily argued back and puffed up their shoulders as if they were going to fight the guard. We could not believe what we were seeing—this was a place of reverence with a sign saying “Only those who wish to pray may enter,” yet these guys were arguing and about to start a fight?! How crazy is that? The guard immediately escorted both men out (although we didn’t see if they were escorted all the way out of the church).

By now we had spent more than 5 hours inside the Vatican and were starving and exhausted from what felt like sensory overload. Rather than waiting in the extremely long line to climb to the top of the dome in 100 degree heat, we decided we would come back first thing in the morning (before it was too hot!) and take in the sights when we were fresh.

So we left the Vatican and got pizzas for lunch—thin crust spicy salami pizza with arrabiata sauce and mushroom pizza. Delizioso! We needed to get our laundry done and take a nap to recharge from the crowds and sights, so we retreated back to our hotel for a while.

After our nap, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. The fountain sits in front of a palace and the statues are designed with an ocean theme with water spouting everywhere, even from the conch shell of Triton. Legend has it that throwing a coin the Trevi Fountain will ensure a return trip to Rome. Having fallen in love with Italy, I took out a coin and threw it in the water as Kyle snapped a picture.

Believe it or not we had reached the point of the trip where we were desperately craving something other than Italian food. I imagine this happens to most travelers who spend an extended period of time away from home. While (of course) I wanted Indian food, we had read that Middle Eastern food was the latest trend in new cuisine. We saw a kebab shop with a view of the sun setting over the Vatican, so we thought it was worth a shot and definitely promised a spectacular view. While these certainly weren’t the best kebabs we’d ever had, it satisfied our craving for something other than pasta.

It didn’t take long for us to get back on the Italian food wagon as we ended the night with the best gelato we had tried so far. At Il Ciampini I got a cone with chestnut and chocolate chip, and Kyle got a cone with blackberry and lemon. This was the richest, smoothest gelato yet. We definitely plan to go back here again before our time in Rome is over!