Viva Italia - Day 2 - Papal Mass and Christian Rome

We had a fantastic day today. It was a very busy, very full day. Unfortunately, while we had a great day, our camera did not. Our normal camera does not take good pictures indoors. We took pictures with the video camera which looked great on the camera, but looked out of focus after being downloaded. Sigh. The first thing I'm buying when David has a job is a good camera!

The day started very early as we had to get to St. Peter's in time for the choir to sing some prelude before the mass. There were a few choirs there and they took turns singing. We were seated right behind the papal altar, so we were very close to Pope Benedict XVI. We mostly saw the back of him, but we did get some of his face during the Eucarist. Five new bishops were ordained today, so we got to see that ceremony.

The mass was in Latin and lasted for three hours! The music was very beautiful. I especially liked the very end where everyone sang "Adeste Fidelis" (Oh Come All Ye Faithful) since it was the Mass for the Ephiphany. We were able to follow along with little books they distributed. David sang the entire Mass. I couldn't understand how to read the chants.

Vatican guard wearing the uniforms designed by Michaelangelo.

Crowd outside waiting to see the Pope speak from his balcony.

Pope blessing the public from the balcony. It is actually very high up and he appears very small. We were able to zoom in to get a closer view. He addressed the crowd in Latin, Italian, French, English, Spanish and German. The crowd clapped and cheered for him. If I can get the video to download, I'll link to it here.

We are not Catholic, but we were really grateful for this amazing opportunity. Very few people get to be inside St. Peter's Cathedral for a Papal Mass and for us to be in such close proximity to the Pope was  something we did not take for granted.

If you'd like to see a video, HERE is some of the mass, the courtyard and the audience on Wednesday. (The volumn changes abruptly.)

Later in the day we visited the other three churches (in addition to St. Peters) that are considered part of an official pilgrimage to Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), San Giovanni in Laterano (Cathedral of Rome or the Pope's Cathedral - Laterano comes from the name of a family in Rome), and San Paulo in Vincoli (St. Paul in Chains). While we have visited St. Peter's several times, we had never visited the other three churches. All three were built by Constantine.

Santa Maria Maggiore is famous for it's beautiful mosaics dating back to the 5th century. Also, the ceiling is made from real 24-carat gold excavated in Peru rather than from the gold leaf paint found in most cathedrals. The church is said to contain relics from the manger and the cross. The mosaics on the floor are original and from the medieval period. The church also contains work from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is one of the oldest church's in Rome and one of the few that never had to be rebuilt.

San Giovanni in Leterano used to be the official cathedral of the Pope prior to St. Peter's. Prior to the papacy moving to Avignon, France in 1309, the building just to the right of the cathedral was the official papal residence. When the papacy returned from France, the church was in great disrepair and the pope's residence was moved to St. Peter's. The church features bronze doors from the Forum, making them over 2,000 years old. There are only three sets of doors like this remaining. The others are on the Pantheon and in the Forum.

Ancient Roman wall

San Paulo in Vincoli was completely different from the other churches and much more Renaissance in style.

It is said to hold the chains with which St. John was chained while imprisoned. It also houses his remains.

Beautiful sunset

cool floors

 

Peter and his keys

This fresco is original (much of the Church was rebuilt in the 1500's after a fire) and is from the 5th Century.

David and I had been fasting all day so we were super excited to finish the day by eating real Italian pizza - hardly any cheese and sauce exploding with flavor - and gelato (I always get pistacchio). Such an awesome day! (The kids didn't even miss us enough to want to Skype today - I guess that's a good thing!)

Tomorrow we visit the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's (we didn't get to see the Pieta, etc. today). The highlight for us tomorrow will be that the choir will perform David's song. I can't wait to hear it in a cathedral with an organ and the amazing acoustics.