Week eleven: Buona Pasqua a tutti

Holy Week in Rome was a truly profound experience.  It began on Holy Thursday, with mass and a pilgrimage through ten of the city’s churches (affectionately called a “church crawl”).  On Good Friday, campus ministry at the J-Force held another small service, and then we all headed downtown for the Stations of the Cross… at the Colosseum… with the Pope.

Finally, I was lucky enough to celebrate Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.  My friends and I got up at 4am one last time to make it downtown, and we ended up in the first section of seats!  I was particularly amused to find an actual line forming around the colonnade when we arrived (LINES don’t enter the piazza, MOBS do!).  We were all terribly confused – a line?  In Italy?  I don’t know how this works? – but, never fear, the Italian police quickly showed up to herd us into the usual horde of people and everything was back to normal.

Easter mass was very exciting.  It was done mostly in Latin – surprisingly, all the other masses I have been to at the Vatican were not! – but as usual, they somehow passed out programs that allowed me to follow (and sing) along.  After mass and the obligatory ride around the square in the popemobile, Pope Francis gave his Urbi et Orbi message and blessing.

Afterward we enjoyed a long, late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Osteria dell’Anima – famous for its pasta stuffed with pear – and I went home to take a nap!

It was a lovely Easter, though the holidays always make me miss home that much more.  But I only have a month left – only a month! – and then my grand adventure is coming to an end.  Well, THIS grand adventure.  Senior year will be another adventure altogether.

"So this is the invitation which I address to everyone: Let us accept the grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish. And so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. Yes, Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for all the world." - Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2013

Here is wishing you all a blessed and joyful Easter all the way from Rome.  Happy Easter everyone!

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