I Love Pope Benedict XVI {St. Valentine's Day Musing}

Our family's view of Pope Benedict XVI on March 30, 2011, at Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican

One of the most memorable moments of our family pilgrimage to Italy in 2011 happened in sunny St. Peter's Square as Pope Benedict XVI wheeled past us following his inspirational, thought provoking weekly audience.  We were within a few feet of our Papa as he rolled along toward the sea of faithful visitors crowded in the piazza below, our seats being on an upper platform very close to the chair from which of our Holy Father preached.  If we had been holding a baby, we could easily have secured a Papal kiss!

The thrill of making eye contact with Pope Benedict surpassed any expected excitement or anticipated joy, and I reacted by screaming, "I love you Pope Benedict!" and throwing him several kisses in rapid succession.  I almost certainly caught a glimpse of a papal smirk at my antics.  Would that be too hard to imagine given the fact that I came unglued like a heart-struck teenager suddenly within reach of her pop star hero?

More far reaching than any pop superstar, Pope Benedict XVI has led our Church and taught us well during his pontificate and throughout his lifetime.  Now he is leading us, or perhaps allowing us to be led in a new direction, as he abdicates his position and retires to monastic life in a few short weeks.

This is our family's second pastor in less than a year to make this same sudden and surprise announcement, seemingly out of the blue.  Yet with holy priests like Pope Benedict and our former pastor Father Qui Thac (now knows as Father Marion in his Benedictine habit), what seems like sudden or shocking news to our eyes and ears is actually the manifestation of light given to them as fruits of a profoundly devout prayer life and an intimately personal relationship with our Lord.  In Pope Benedict we are given another fine role model to follow and imitate, teaching us by his example the virtue in letting go of everything and anything when God calls us to abandon ourselves to a closer union with Him.

Pope Bendict's message at our papal audience in 2011 focused on the life St. Alphonsus Ligouri, however the very words he used to describe St. Ligouri could aptly be repeated to sing the praises of our soon-to-be-retired Pope Benedict XVI.  I share the quote Father Z style; my comments in red:

St Alphonsus Maria Liguori {Pope Benedict XVI} is an example of a zealous Pastor who conquered souls {including mine} by preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments combined with behaviour impressed with gentle and merciful goodness that was born from his intense relationship with God, who is infinite Goodness. He had a realistically optimistic vision of the resources of good that the Lord gives to every person and gave importance to the affections and sentiments of the heart, {even love-struck ladies at papal audiences} as well as to the mind, to be able to love God and neighbour. 

~ BENEDICT XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE

St. Peter's Square, Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Italy Day 7 {Rome: Apostolic Blessing & St. Paul Outside the Walls}

Pope Benedict XVI at the general audience March 30, 2011

Our Papa!

Anticipating our Papal Audience with great excitement, we raced to St. Peter's with throngs of pilgrims in the early morning on Wednesday. Our seats, in the "speciale" zone, were up on the platform not far from Pope Benedict XVI's chair. The wait from arriving at our seats to waving at Papa was about two hours; the weather was beautiful and our neighbors in the crowd shared our enthusiasm (some shared sunscreen, and others offered to email us their photos taken with a D80+Zoom). Once the audience began, our appreciation for the great honor of being present magnified. The holy Gospel of St. John was procliamed in Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Portugese, and Polish; and the Holy Father's teachings were also given in each of these languages (condensed in all but Italian). Our neighbors in the seats included a contingent from French L'Arche. The unbridled enthusiasm of one their young men was refreshing, and totally unprecictable (Joseph's quote)


After praying the Lord's Prayer together (chanted Pater Noster) and receiving our apostolic blessing, many of the front rows began to empty out. We rushed the stage filled in the gaps, and found ourselves at the very front row to watch Pope Benedict XVI greeting a line of guests, including a very young boy who appreared to be a cancer patient and a long line of cardinals. Still at the front row when Pope Benedict began his motored exit, we waved and even made eye contact! Lifelong memories to be sure...

Family picnic after the audience, back at our flat in the garden

Riding a wave of joy and fulfilled hopes, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in our patio garden at the flat. Sharing our impressions of the Papal Audience and reliving the exciting event in the comfort of our home in Rome kept the afterglow burning bright. Lunch time discussion also included a few decisions about how best to use our remaining days with Zachary before his early return to the US for classes. Renting a car turns out to be cheaper than 5 train tickets to Assisi, so after lunch we visited the car rental agency at Termini station in Rome, en route to St. Paul's Outside the Walls.

Amazing art at St. Paul's, Rome

Metro stop at St. Paul's Basilica

Entering St. Paul's at the exact time an English Mass began in a side chapel, we joined the pilgrims from El Paso, Texas, for the celebration. In white vestments rather than violet (Lent), the priest said a Mass remembering the Conversion of St. Paul.  The Gospel reading was from Mark: go out to all the world and tell the good news! He encouraged us to be bold in sharing our faith and living the Gospel.
Take a virtual tour of this outstanding basilica here.

Noteworthy:

• Mile-long lines at the Vatican museum disappear on a Papal audience morning.
• A high school band entertained the crowd with Amazing Grace, followed by theme songs from Indiana Jones and Blues Brothers in St. Peter's Square before the Pope's arrival.
• Our Holy Father, and shepherd, Pope Benedict XVI, captured our hearts!