Sunday, December 24
Christmas Eve in Rome. A very special time. Last month we applied to the Vatican for tickets to Christmas Eve mass in St Peter’s Basilica with the Pope. Last week we were informed that our request was granted and we were to receive two tickets. Last Thursday we picked up our tickets. We were informed that the Vatican issues more tickets than there are seats so that it would be best if we got there six hours early to insure entry.
Even though the weather in Rome is rather temperate, compared to New York, it still gets cold at night when the sun goes down. Since the mass was scheduled to start at 9:30 pm we decided to arrive around 6:00 pm and take our chances. When we arrived in St Peter’s square there was no line and there were no officials to help organize things. The area where the x-rays machines were installed was also quiet. We continued walking around the square and discovered a very long line emanating from the far corner of the square. We followed the line down the block and found that the line reached all the way to the end and was starting to loop around. There were at least 1,000 people in line already. We took our place at the end.
Until recently St Peter’s Basilica was the largest church in the world. It covers an area exceeding 5.7 acres. More than 60,000 people can fit inside. The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro was constructed in the 1980s in the Ivory Coast. It’s larger in area than St Peter’s but can only contain about 1,000 people. Knowing these statistics we thought we stood a good chance of getting in.
Just about everyone on the line had the same concern: was this the right line to get into the Basilica? Everywhere we looked people were pulling tickets from their pockets and asking their neighbors what they thought. We never did see any officials or any people trying to direct the masses. This seems typical of Rome – organization does not seem to be held in high esteem here.
Around 7:30 pm the line started moving and we headed towards the security checkpoints. After running through airport style x-ray machines we headed into the Basilica. Seating was first come, first served. We expected absolute chaos. In fact most people conducted themselves with polite decorum and quickly and efficiently found seating in the Cathedral. Chairs were setup in several sections only along the nave and we found seats on the aisle about a third of the way down from the main entrance. We estimated that there were about 4,000 people seated in total. When we entered the ushers gave us programs. While we waited for the service to begin we perused the programs while the organist and the choir rehearsed some of their selections. The mass was to be conducted in Latin. The sung passages were to be performed in Gregorian Chant.
(Obligatory selfie inside the Basilica)
About ten minutes before the service was to begin the clergy, including the Pope, appeared surrounded by a cloud of incense. They formed a processional that traveled from the entrance area down the middle of the nave and arrived at the main alter. The canopy over the main alter, designed by Bernini, is an enormous structure made of bronze that stands over seven stories tall. Comparatively, the people standing underneath appeared small indeed.
The Pope conducted several call/response portions of the service. He also gave the evening’s homily which was in Italian. Unfortunately, we only understood small portions of it. At the end of the service the Pope carried the baby Jesus from the front of the church and deposited it in the Nativity display near the back. The basilica cleared out pretty quickly giving us the opportunity to see the completed display.
(Pope Francis conducting the Mass)
All in all it was a wonderful experience. After a brisk 30 minute walk in the cold evening air we arrived back home as 12:01 am. Christmas day had arrived.
Monday, December 25
Christmas day was spent at home. Everything in Rome is closed on December 25 (Christmas day) and December 26 (The Feast of St Stephen). We occupied ourselves with TV, naps and food (Christmas cookies, Panettone and Buche de Noel). Tuesday will probably be more of the same.
(Christmas cookies from a local bakery)
(Buche de Noel and Panettone)
Buon Natale from Rome!
Obviously in the states the idea that everything is closed is getting more and more laxed- is it safe to assume that in Rome there really is nothing open? I would assume they take it pretty seriously…
Italians don’t live for work as we do in the US. They treasure their downtime. In fact they often feel like they have constant downtime even when they are at work 🙂