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View from the back of the bus - Sunday
29th June, 2009 - Posted by Ursula Stephens -
It’s Sunday and we’re up early to attend Mass in one of the many chapels in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica. Our usual routine is to get a wake up call at 6, breakfast at 7 and into the bus by 8, but this morning we’re all dragging our feet and Fr Francise is anxious that we not be late.
We say the Morning Prayer from our pilgrim journal together as we make our way to the Vatican precinct. The Basilica looks magnificent bathed in the morning light. We scurry across the square and into the Basilica. The Archbishops, priest and deacons disappear to get dressed (Green vestments today), leaving us some time to take in the magnificence of St Peters.
When we head down the narrow marble steps to the crypt its like entering another world! A major logistics effort to begin with - some of the chapels are smaller than others and Mass is being said in several different languages as we follow our priests down and around the corridors. It would be very easy to get lost lingering to look at the beautiful frescoes along the walls, shielded from the shoulder to shoulder traffic by perspex.
The entire ceiling of the corridors are also beautifully decorated, so no matter where you look you will see a sea of blue with rosettes, cherubs, flowers, patterns, moons and stars.
We make our way to the chapel of St Columbanus, which is the Irish chapel in the crypt- we fit with room to spare and are joined by a group of English speakers in search of an English mass.
Archbishop Francis is chief celebrant today and he preaches of the tensions between the old and the new church and his experiences of the changes brought about by the Vatican Council. He also stressed the important shift in consciousness that occurred as a result- from the church of the ordained to the church of the baptised.
There are important symmetries between the messages of the two Archbishops - the old and the new, the need for commitment to live the life God wants for us, and of course that sense of community - koinonia that is also Paul’s message to the early church.
Archbishop Francis also reminds us that with the privilege of belonging to the one true church comes responsibility to live up to its teachings.
We pray for the intentions of all of you at home, and for the troubled Church in Ireland, as we are indebted to Ireland for the propagation of the faith around the world.
When Mass is over we attempt to find our way out of the crypt - not as easy as it sounds! We eventually find our way back up a winding staircase and find ourselves close to the main altar, with several hundred people attending Mass.
Around the Basilica, upstairs and downstairs, Masses continue throughout the morning.meanwhile, we head back to the bus, imagining for a moment that we might have a chance for a cuppa soon.!
But no! Fianeta has other plans. We drive to the Holy Stairs brought from Jerusalem to Rome by St Helenan visit the basilic of St John in Lateran before heading back to the hotel for lunch.
Archbishop Mark has taken Bob and me to the Irish college and I will tell you all about that in a separate blog!
What else can we fit into the day? Half the group is keen to see the Colloseum, the Circus Maximus and Roman Forum so off they go in the bus. The rest stay behind for a siesta or a coffee and get ready for the next big treat - Vespers at St Paul’s Basilica Outside the Walls with Pope Benedict!
We arrive about 4.30 and join the already long queues to get into St Paul’s. Fr Francis has already picked up the tickets for today so we’re feeling confident we’ll have good view of what is going on.
The queues move slowly and we finally get into the Basilica at 5.55 and the crush is unbelievable! I estimate about 10000 people for 6000 seats. The chairs are long gone and we have had no chance of a vantage point. It seems a total shemozzle - then the choir begins singing the Litany of Saints.
There’s a great cheer and applause when the Holy Father arrives and our discomfort is forgotten for a little while.
Vespers last until 7.30 so we’ve been on our feet for three hours! I will let Archbishop Mark translate the Pope’s uplifting homily ( it was all in Italian). We felt blessed to be in the Pope’s presence, but frankly - totally exhausted by the crowds, the heat and the crush of pushy people!!!!
Elizabeth and I stuck together and made a hasty exit from the Church. By the time we all re-grouped for the bus it was after 8 o’clock and the oldies especially were exhausted. Home on the bus for dinner and an early bed - we start again at 6!
Tomorrow we have the final Mass of the Pauline year at St Peter’s. After today’s experience we’ll be a little better prepared for the wait - no high heeled shoes tomorrow!!!!!
Cheers and blessings from your weary pilgrims.
Tags: Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, footsteps of saint paul, pilgrimage, st paul, Ursula Stephens
Posted on: June 29, 2009
Filed under: Reflections from the Back of the Bus
2 Comments
Pilgrim watcher
June 29th, 2009 at 5:42 am
Good afternoon Ursula,
I wondered what you’d get up to today! And it was a great deal more than I would have imagined. You certainly won’t have any trouble sleeping. I had no idea that a pilgrimage would be so exhausting!! Thank you once again for your beautiful descriptions. The ceilings in the crypt of St Peter’s sound so beautiful. And it must have been very moving being at Vespers with His Holiness. I remember that it was very special being with him at Randwick during World Youth Day last year. Given however, that there weren’t quite as many of you as were at Randwick, it probably felt even more intimate than Randwick; although there was definitely a feeling of intimacy there. I’m glad you’re having such a wonderful time and seeing so much. Enjoy the last few days and happy Saints Peter and Paul day to everyone too.
God bless
Fr Simon Falk
June 30th, 2009 at 4:30 am
My Ursula! It sounds as though the back of the bus is not seen much from all the footwork you describe in your blog! It sounds to be a truly faithfilled and exiting time. I hope Bob is behaving himself! May you all have a blessed and enjoyable pilgrimage which will leave footprints on your memories for many years I’m sure.
Fr Simon
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