Buona Pasqua a tutti!

       It's kind of interesting how being in Rome and at the Vatican this weekend has given me a completely new spin on and appreciation for Easter. Yes, I did partake in a chocolate egg and my mom did send me Reese's (both of which are significantly important), but there was so much more to these last few days that I don't know if I can explain well, but for all of you, I'm going to try.

       My first big event of the weekend was on Good Friday - the famed Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) at the Colosseum, with Pope Benedict presiding. I went with four other friends (three from UD and one from Germany) and we walked down Via dei Fori Romani together, which is the street that leads to the Colosseum and goes through the Forums. The whole street was blocked off to mechanical traffic in order to make more room for the pedestrian traffic - aka there were a whole lot of people there. We finally got through and were somehow able to find a place to stand in the open area between the Colosseum and the Forum, right in front of where the Pope was supposed to be. The whole area was filled with people - standing, sitting, kneeling, and packed in as tightly as we could stand. There were Italian boy scouts walking around handing out candles and programs, and nuns using their habits to their advantage to push their way closer to the front. The thing that struck me the most though (and continued to impress me throughout the weekend) was the global presence of the Church that I kept seeing - I don't know how many languages I heard or how many people I saw representing nations that I've never been to, but all of us came together for the events that we considered to be very important.

       As Pope Benedict came into view and got into position under his little red tent, the crowd let out a huge roar - Viva la Papa! With the cameras flashing and people shouting across the way, he gave everyone a few moments as he waved with a smile and addressed the crowd. As he fell silent and kneeled, a hush fell over the crowd, cameras were put down, and the prayers begun. It was like a secret code that everyone knew - celebrate, take pictures, and live in the moment, but don't forget what this whole thing is really about. We progressed through the fourteen stations (all in Italian...so glad I study it!) and were going through the Via Crucis for about an hour and a half, complete with songs sung by an amazing choir and rotating readers so that we could at least tell the difference between the readings and the reflections. At the end of the prayer, the crowd once again cheered and waved as the Pope rose and waved, before heading back to his vehicle. The whole process was filled with a prayerful awe, especially when I looked around and realized that this was still only a fraction of the Body of Christ present - there are not enough words to describe this sensation.

       The other most impressive part of my weekend was Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican. I had made plans to go with Marie and Amanda, two girls from UD that I hang out with a lot here, and we all had tickets to get in to St. Peter's Square. Mass started at 10:15, and the doors opened at 8:30, so we planned to get there and meet at 6:30. Early, I know, but we thought that it would be the best option - we knew that we did not want to stand the whole time, and were prepared to show up early to get a seat!

       I was the first one there (and, as it turns out, the only one of us three to wake up to her alarm) and got there at 6:15 - yes, before they turned the lights off at St. Peter's, before dawn. As I walked down Via Conciliazione, I saw about 20 other people. total. The really nice part about that was that I got a few moments of the morning pretty much to myself at the Vatican - what a cool experience! Sometime around 7:00, the other two arrived and joined me in line. We killed the time telling stories, complaining about how early it was, and talking to the other people around us. After waiting for just under two hours, they opened the gates. How did I know this? Certainly not because I saw it, but because EVERYONE started moving. I wasn't actually moving of my own volition, but there was no way I was going to even be able to stop if I had wanted to - those Germans, Filipinos, and nuns are downright pushy.

       After somehow getting through security, I saw that Marie and Amanda had gotten through ahead of me and were saving our seats. So I stopped to take a picture of everyone running as fast as they could manage to get the best seat possible - obviously paying no head to the advice of the Swiss Guards, who were trying to tell people to go slowly and take it easy. Because of their hard work, we were able to land seats in the ninth row of the first section! Maybe it was giddiness, maybe it was a bit of early morning exhaustion, but I was extremely pleased with how close to the front we were able to get - and I know that they were, too. Before we had started this whole part of the adventure, I didn't know if I would be able to get there at all, and now I found myself right up front.

       We passed the next two hours chatting, napping, watching people, and taking pictures. We saw all of the last minute preparations, including the uncovering of the ambo, the positioning of the VIPs (whoever they were) on either side of the altar, the cameramen setting up their cameras, the security people (as well as the Cardinals) taking their stations, and heard the sound tests. We even snuck past the guard up front who kept waving people back to their seats in order to take a pretty fabulous picture together (with another girl from UD, Kate, who we sat next to).

       Around 10:00, the marching bands started. No, I didn't know that there was a pre-mass parade, either. But after these bands (and the Swiss Guards) marched through the Piazza, the procession for mass began. Just like the other night, people were constantly taking pictures and working to be taller than (or at least get better views than) everyone else who happened to be in their way - meaning that before Papa B. made his way in the popemobile up to the altar, everyone was on their chairs. Once the entire procession made its way up to the altar and the popemobile made its exit, everyone settled down (and sat down) to participate in the mass - and to watch it all unfold. For any of you who have been to a Catholic mass before, that's pretty much what happened. But it was in Latin...with Italian translations in the program. And over 1,000,000 people in attendance. And of course, the shock-and-awe factor of being at the Vatican for Easter. We were sitting amongst people from all over the world, and it was pretty obvious that we were all loving every minute of it. I especially liked the petitions (7 of them) that were all in different languages - including Chinese and Swahili. My other favorite was all of the chanting - a good number of the different parts of mass were chanted (including the creed), so thanks to all of the time I spent at St. Meinrad I was able to follow (and sing) along!

       Passing into the Eucharistic rite, we saw somewhere around 40-50 priests come out to distribute Communion. As they were splitting up and heading toward the crowd, we started to wonder how in the world this feat was going to be accomplished...and then we saw the umbrellas.

At first, I thought that they were just to give the priests some shade (it didn't get sunny until mass started - coincidence?), but then I realized it was so that people could find the closest distributor. If you look at those pictures, can you understand why? After receiving ourselves, I spent some time watching ''our'' distributor - he looked slightly stressed. In order to distribute, he had to just keep turning in circles (360 degrees) because people were pressing to him from all directions. And then, I took a look back towards the rest of the crowd - I'm not actually sure when all of those people showed up, but it was obviously sometime when I wasn't looking...

       After everyone returned to their seats, Pope Benedict said the closing prayer, and then processed into the Basilica so that he could read his address - and of course, wish the entire world a Happy Easter (in about 40 different languages, of course). Each language was announced, then the respective Happy Easter was said, and then came the cheers from those who were present and represented that nation or language. Although I completely missed English, I did enjoy (of course) Italian and Spanish, as well as Swahili, Chinese, Ukrainian, Slovakian, and Yiddish - not that I could repeat any of them for you... In between all of the cheers and the message that he was sharing with the people there (and all around the world, thanks to internet and television), I had a sensation of pure joy - Easter day, at the Vatican, with people from all over the place. What an unbelievable experience.

       After we found our way out of the Vatican, we ate some pizza, and Amanda and I went to Tiber Island to rest and catch some rays. That evening, I went to Amanda's apartment, where we cooked together with Kate and were joined by Amanda's roommate Melissa for an Easter dinner - college-student-studying-abroad style. We made pork, baked potatoes, haluski (Slovakian pasta, onion, cabbage, and butter dish), applesauce, and shared a chocolate egg - and of course, some wine and conversation. What a lovely end to a lovely day.

       I hope I haven't lost too many of you (yes, I know it's long, but I couldn't leave anything out) and that at the very least, you enjoyed the pictures! Stay posted as I try to survive JPII's Beatification next week - and hopefully make it into the Vatican. The city has been crawling with people this week with [only] one million extra tourists - how will we ever make it through with three million more?