Wednesday Audience With The Pope

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Audience with the Pope
· We were told that we needed to be at least 3 ½ hours early if we wanted to have any kind of seats where we could actually see the Pope in person. Picked up the early bus (they do start running at 5 AM) and were the 3rd group in line at the gate. … then it was stand and wait until the guards would let us in to Vatican Square at 8:15. We were expecting to be put thru the metal detectors (you have to go thru them before you can get inside St. Peter’s Basilica) but I guess because today is all in the open once the gates opened we, waving our blue tickets, were allowed to proceed up to the sitting area for our color of ticket…. We hung on to each other and walked very very fast towards the front of our section and then over to the middle. We ended up with GREAT SEATS… we were in the middle of the front row with nothing but a low wooden fence between us and Pope Benedict… plus about 100 yards of concrete…but when he drove by in the popemobile it was right in front of us… problem was we had the driver next to us and he was standing on the left hand side so all we could do was shout “Viva La Papa” as he rode by. Martha has some great pictures so be sure to check out her blog site. During all the speeches and prayers we had no one in front of us so we had a clear view of Pope Benedict as he sat on his dais during the ceremonies. Did I feel like I had an Audience With the Pope… you bet I did…. Even though I did not get to touch or speak to him it was another dream fulfillment for this Catholic school girl who so long ago planned to become a nun. But then I found out how much fun boys could be and so the dream of becoming a nun was put away and soon I found myself married and raising a family. But remaining in a special corner of my heart is my own first true love “the Church”….. so this trip has been very fulfilling visiting Fatima, Lourdes and now celebrating Easter Week in Rome. We have tickets and will be attending a Papal Mass of the Lord’s Supper tonight with the Pope in San. Giovanni in Laterno Basilica, this is the home church of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). When a Pope is elected, it is not official until he sets in the popes chair in this church. We have more Easter Week events to attend but I will fill you in on these as the week progresses.

Leaving the square it was a dash, with a lot of other people, to find the correct bus that would bring us back to our hostel near the Train Terminal. Again, as we entered the bus a little ole lady… said “Senorita – I have a seat here for you” so I got a seat on a very crowed bus all the way back to the Terminal… I feel guilty as Martha stood the whole way but she has better standing ability than I and I must look my age as I keep having bus seats offered to me….. also know that after a sleepless night and a raging head cold I probably looked pretty bad.. all I wanted was some food, more cold medicine and a warm bed. Martha’s daughter, Mary Frances (from San Francisco, she is our contact for all these event tickets as she works for the Diocese of San Francisco) flew in today and met us back at our hostel. She and Martha went out for a few hours while I headed to bed. Mary Francis has be to up early on Thursday for the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s where she has a ticket to receive communion direct from Pope Benedict… how special is that… once in a lifetime opportunity. We on the other hand have plans to see the Borghese Museum in the morning.
Ciao from Rome