At the risk of being repetitive, Rome -WOW!
Wednesday had us out of bed early, although not as early as our departure from Madrid, because we had an 8am Mass scheduled at St. Peter's Bascilica. It would appear that early is the only time to go to St Peter's because by lunch time the crowd was huge and our guides told us that this is not the peak period because many Romans are away on holiday.
Despite being awed by the Basilicas that we saw the previous day, St Peter's was on another level completely. Once again, I'll get some pictures up when I return home next week because it is just so difficult to describe. You really need to see it to take it all in and by this time some of us were suffering from brain overload. While we waiting for our Mass time we wandered the Basilica taking photos. There were altars and side chapels everywhere you looked. And in keeping with the other churches we had been into, not a centimetre of the ceiling was left unpainted. While I was marveling at the dome above the altar canopy, Fr Luan told me that for about 5 Euro you could climb to the top. Much cheaper than the Harbour Bridge climb. It was a pity we didn't have time. The view would have excellent.
At 8am we were ushered down stairs for Mass. I didn't count the number of chapels down there, but the movement in and out Mass was precision clockwork. What a shame these people weren't involved in the organization of WYD. Traveling with a Bishop, 2 priests, a deacon and 2 seminarians meant there was no shortage of people to preside over our own private service. Each Mass was special and this was no different. Another underground Mass, not as deep as the catacombs, but near the Papal crypts. Special, just doesn't quite describe it.
Toward the end of Mass we were joined by a seriously ancient local man. We were alerted to his arrival by the scraping of his crutches on the marble floor. He made his way unsteadily down the few stairs, squeezed into the back row between two of the boys and was assisted to communion. Just prior to our Mass finishing he rose unsteadily to his feet and after a few attempts was assisted up the stairs to the corridor. As we were leaving we noticed he had joined the Mass in the next Chapel.
Following Mass we made a quick trip to the Papal crypt. We had limited time there because we were due at the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel in a few minutes. I left the group as they were heading to the museum because one of our pilgrims had left a wallet behind at St. Paul's the pervious day and it had been handed in, contents intact. A taxi to St. Paul's and back and then we joined the queue to get back into St. Peter's for our guided tour. By this time the crowd was huge and the line for admission snaked its way across the piazza. 30 minutes later we sitting in the shade waiting for our group to emerge from the museum. Having a guide explain some of the artwork and provide the history of some of the features made the second visit inside St. Peter's all the more interesting.
After lunch it was a visit to a 'religious artifact' shop. The owner had very kindly allowed us to store our bags there prior to our tour of the museum, courtesy of the Bishop, and he was certainly repaid by the amount of money we spent. Thankfully, we have a 30kg allowance on the way home and some of us have already purchased an extra bag. I will be when we reach Assisi.
We have been away from home for 2 weeks and this afternoon was our first 'free' afternoon. We dispersed across Rome in small groups. Some went shopping, some sightseeing, my group did both and we wandered back to the hotel over a 3 hour period, shopping and sightseeing en route.
Dinner was followed by a tour of Rome by night. We visited the usual tourist spots including the Trevi Fountain and the colosseum.
It is difficult to assimilate all that we have seen experienced over the last 3 days. The history, well part of the history, of our faith was on display for all to see. No doubt this has had an impact on us all in different ways. Time will tell how we bring this back to enrich our own lives in Australia.
Tomorrow we travel to Assisi, which according to our experienced travelers will be a change of pace from Rome and the highlight of Italy.
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