Habemusne Papam?

The day's finally here! It's been a long wait for all of us here in Rome; most of the Cardinals have been here for weeks, and the excitement has been mounting by the day! The first vote will take place this evening, and I for one, plan to be in the square when the smoke, white or black, goes up for the first time! I'm seriously hoping that the new pope is elected before I leave for Germany on Friday. Maybe it's a bit much to ask, but I have a feeling that maybe, just maybe, Jesus will give us all that gift. Of course, I want the Cardinals to vote carefully and take the time to elect the right man, but if they could do it sooner rather than later, I'd be very very happy.

Prayer for the Conclave:

Heavenly Father, We the People of God, gathered in solidarity as did the disciples in the Upper Room, pray for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the cardinals who will be in conclave for the election of the next Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May the hearts of our cardinals be open to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, beyond human judgment, to elect the candidate most pleasing to you, Heavenly Father, and who will guide the Church at this momentous time in history at the beginning of the Third Millennium. We invoke our Mother Mary, united in prayer with the disciples in the Upper Room, to intercede for the cardinals to select the next Holy Father in docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, her divine Spouse, Holy Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, we entrust this conclave to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, and offer these prayers for your guidance and protection over the choosing of the next Vicar of your Son. one Our Father one Hail Mary one Glory Be

Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, pray for us!  

Papal Update

Once again, totally behind on everything, including blogging. Rome is an incredible place right now, so much energy and excitement!

It's impossible to express how blessed I am to be in Rome at such an exciting time. I remember driving to the airport, and thinking, "Y'know, I could just stay home. I don't really have to go to Rome." Little did I know that only a month later, I'd be caught up in the most exciting thing I've ever done. Not only did I get to attend the last public mass, but I was also there for the last Papal Audience. 

The audience was fantastic. St. Peter's square was absolutely jam-packed with people from all over the world. Flags were flying, people were singing, and the mood was completely joyful, as we waited for the pope to arrive. We all had our backpacks crammed with religious items for Benedict to bless, and we had our intentions, so that our friends and families back home would also get the blessing.  As the time approached the tension heightened, and it was all I could do to not jump up and down in my seat. 

Then a voice over the loud speaker began calling the names of different groups from different countries. First Italian, then Spanish, then German, and finally, English. We all waited with bated breath while the voice called the other university groups. At first, I was afraid that we wouldn't be called. But finally they called us, and we cheered at the top of our lungs, waving our flag proudly. It was the most elating feeling to know that the pope knew we were there, and that we loved him and were loyal to him. After several more languages, the voice stopped, and we were caught in suspense for another ten minutes. 

Then the organ blared out, and everything fell silent, then, to one side, the crowd caught sight of the Pope, and the square erupted in cheers. I ran through the crowd, and for the first time, got to see Pope Benedict up close. 

I was so elated, and I remember shouting, "Papa!" as the pope mobile drove serenely past. When I could no longer see him, I turned around and saw two of my friends trying to balance on a small plastic chair in order to see over the crowd. Then we resumed our seats, as the audience began.

The moment the readings began, the entire crowd was completely still and silent. Then the pope made a long address in Italian. Of course, I couldn't understand it at the time, but the line that stuck with me after I read the translation was, "The heart of a pope expands to encompass the whole world." I think this really sums up Benedict's pontificate. A simple, German scholar becomes pope, and God gives him all the graces to fulfill his duties and then some. 

After the Audience, we went back to campus to hold our traditional Greek Olympics. Or at least, we pretended to. In reality we were waiting for the papal helicopter to fly over, so we could bid one last farewell to Papa Benedict.

(James Bernard or Ryan Reedy)

As we lay on the ground, we saw the helicopter hesitate, and a tiny white speck appeared at one of the windows. Then as it moved on, towards Castel Gandolfo, we all ran after it, cheering. It was a very personal goodbye from all of us here on campus.

Later, a friend and I went up to Castel Gandolfo. We'd missed the very last speech, so it was very quiet in the piazza even though there were cameras and news crews everywhere; The whole town was hushed and joining the Pope in prayer. I bought a rosary from a small shop, and spent the last hour of Pope Benedict's pontificate praying outside the papal residence. 

Then the clock struck eight. Very slowly, the Swiss Guard saluted, and then, noiselessly closed the huge wood doors. Then, it was all over.

Ich Liebe Dich, Papa!

Apologies for my absence; we've had history and theology tests because apparently living history doesn't excuse you from learning it. Where to start. Well, last Sunday I went to the Angelus in St. Peter's square and squinted up at a tiny white speck, who, I knew, represented Christ on earth. "This," I thought, "is what it means to be Catholic!" And along with the Italian school children, we all shouted, "Viva el Papa!" On Monday I was sitting in Art History, really ready for lunch, when our RA came in and maked the breathless announcement that the Pope had resigned.

Resigned?

Popes can resign?

I have to admit that I was in shock. I vaguely remember pushing past people to get to the TV in the lounge. It was all true. The story ran over and over: Pope Benedict...no longer able...has resigned. I stood staring at the screen, unable to even comprehend what I was hearing. All I could hear was my Dad's voice, saying, "It's Ratzinger!" When Pope Benedict was first elected. I remembered how excited we had all been, even though we were all Anglican. I remembered my confirmation, when Pope Benedict became my papa too. I thought about all his books I haven't read, but how much I admired him. I started to shake uncontrollably, and then the tears came. I didn't care that I was surrounded by people; I was so confused and shaken.

Then the excitement set in. "We're gonna get a new Pope and the old one isn't even dead. Isn't that great?" So the emotions went back and forth: hysterical weeping, excited chatter, tears, talking, but finally we settled on excited. 

We were even more excited when we learned that the Pope had cancelled Ash Wednesday Mass at Santa Sabine and, instead, was having it at St. Peter's. We were all ecstatic because we knew we couldn't go to the mass at St. Sabine, but we had a chance at getting into St. Peter's. We were all ready to skip classes, and head to St. Peter's before 8 am. But we all waited until 11:30, and that was the perfect time. We got in the very front of the line, and were among the first 100 people into the Basilica for Pope Benedict's final public mass! 

It was such a bittersweet experience. On one hand, it was sad to see how frail the Pope is, but one the other, it was joyful because it displayed Pope Benedict's faithful service to the church, particularly over the last eight years. It was also a very humbling experience; the Pope was not putting on a final performance. He was saying a Mass, surrounded by those he loves the best- Catholics from all over the world, from every walk of life. And, as he gave his last public homily, he begged us to "turn to the Lord with all your heart." Even with all the attention on him, Pope Benedict was preparing us to be unified under a new pope. 

Just before the final blessing, one of the Cardinals stood up and, in Italian, thanked the Pope for his service. There then followed the most respectful standing ovation I've ever heard. The whole Basilica broke into applause, but not noisy, rowdy clapping: respectful and reverent applause. It was a manifestation of the love, deep respect, and gratitude that every person in the Basilica felt for him. 

It was truly a beautiful experience, and I'm not sure how I can convey the Pope's love for every single person on this planet. It was one of those things you could just feel. I felt as though he was truly my father, and that we had a very deep, personal relationship, the kind of unconditional love that belongs to Christ. I know that we all feel as if no one could ever replace him, but I know that he wants us to give all the loyalty we've shown him to the new pope.