The Angelus starts at noon and we got there right before 11, so we had some time on our hands. Some guys went to grab a bite to eat, but Patrick, Martin, Austin, Fr. Bravo, Fr. Johnson and I decided to stand in the line to get into St. Peter's. It was raining, and the line was very long. We got in line under the assumption we would never get inside before noon, we just wanted to hang out in the Square, and the line was something to do. We shared stories, made jokes, talked about our favorite places so far. We even played "Guess the Saint" by looking at the different statues of Saints lining the Square. Somehow, the line started moving rapidly. It was 11:25 and we were about to enter the part of the line surrounded by barricades, so we thought, either go rush into St. Peter's and out again in time for the Angelus, or we jump out of line just in case. Well, we went for it.
The six of us (Patrick, Martin, Austin, Bravo, Johnson, and myself) entered St. Peter's Basilica. Let me put it this way, I thought St. Paul's had my jaw drop. Well, this place had me transfixed. What I saw as soon as I entered made me lay down on my face and kiss the ground. I walked down the center toward the high altar, and it's quite a walk. There was Gregorian chant going on, and just looking around, I actually felt like I had entered Heaven, that's not a metaphor, I actually felt that. I felt like I was going to cry from sheer joy of the Basilica. I was just staring down the center, looking at the high altar, the statues, the stained glass of the Holy Spirit, it all spoke a heavenly language. Patrick had to physically turn me around to get me to take a picture with them, I heard them telling me to turn, but I truly was transfixed and couldn't think of anything else but that I was in the house of God on Earth. We spent about 15 minutes in there, a laughable amount of time considering the decades it would take to discover everything inside, but we had to head out to see the Pope's Angelus.
We got back out to the Square in a pretty good spot, it was kind of crowded. Pope Francis came out of his window, which is to the right of the square and pretty far; we could only see a small figure in white, but the screens in the Square broadcasted him up close. He gave a sermon, and I was surprisingly able to translate a decent amount. He spoke on love, mercy, the Blessed Mother's role, and the suffering of our fellow Christians in the Middle East. Then, he started the Angelus, which for those of you who don't know is a traditional prayer to the Blessed Mother prayed at noon, which includes three Hail Mary's. I was surprised when he said it in Latin, and very happy, because Latin is my preferred way to pray. So, it was amazing saying the Hail Mary and the rest of the Angelus in unison with the Holy Father. At the end, he blessed all of us in the Square, and headed back inside. It was very moving, seeing the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of St. Peter in person, after learning, reading, and studying about the Office of the Papacy for years. We all agreed it was awesome.
Last thing I'm gonna mention before grabbing some lunch, as the six of us started to head toward the obelisk to meet with the rest of the pilgrims, we passed two huge circles, one surrounding the other, of Spanish pilgrims dancing and spinning around the huge circles, clapping to a song in Spanish. Patrick, Martin and I jumped in the circle with the Spaniards, following their simple foot patterns, spinning around the circle, and clapping along. I didn't know the words by any means, but I felt lucky to be in a place where people are so friendly, where we truly treat fellow Christians as brothers and sisters. That's an important part of being a pilgrim to me, meeting fellow pilgrims and enjoying their company, celebrating our pilgrimage together.
After that, we headed back to our respective houses, and now here I sit on Mr. Romano's laptop writing this to all of you. I feel like this shared some more reflection than summary compared to yesterday's post, and I hope it truly does. I hope you can tell from my thoroughness and joy in my writing, that these experiences are affecting me. I do feel closer to my Church, I do feel God's voice more clearly, in ways I had not yet experienced. I await our coming experiences with an open mind and a heart ready to grow closer to God.
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| Francis from the window delivering the Angelus |
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| The six of us in the Square listening to the Pope |
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
Brandon
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