More Wonderful Stories from the Eternal City!

Hello Everyone! I hope the month of February has been treating you all well...it's hard to believe it's already more than half over. Time seems to be flying by over here!

Last weekend was a wonderful and more relaxing weekend that we spent staying in Rome. On Friday, we visited a church called St. Crisagono, which houses the body of an incorrupt saint, St. Anna Marie Tagi. She was a wife, mother, and mystic. Her body is in nearly perfect condition and it seems as if she is only sleeping! We were also able to visit the Church of St. Cecelia, built over the house where the saint herself lived hundreds of years ago.

Saturday we got up early and were able to have Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's basilica, just feet away from the bones of St. Peter! The beauty of morning Mass at St. Peter's is something that I will never forget! After Mass we were able to visit the grave of Pope John Paul II, who is soon to be beatified. What a gift to be able to pray in front of the grave of so recent a saint! To top off our wonderful St. Peter's day, we were able to go up the many flights of steps to the top of the dome at step outside...what a view! It's incredible to realize how big St. Peter's actually is and how small Rome seems from the top! It's beautiful to see the arms of the square, ready to embrace the world, from the top as well.

We were able to go to St. Peter's again on Sunday, and pray the Angelus with the pope on his usual Sunday morning appearances. We were also able to do some shopping at the weekly Sunday market. There are many little booths set up at the market, with people selling everything from boots and scarves, to kitchen supplies and purses. I have never seen vendors so eager to sell their products! You can hear them from across the area loudly yelling about the good prices that they are offering, and yet still being willing to barter with you and give you the product for a much lower price. I had fun observing and doing a little bartering myself! We had our usual Sunday night community night with Mass and dinner and our usual guests. A few of us girls baked and frosted sugar cookies for our dessert that night, which I think were thoroughly enjoyed by all!

We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the Trevi fountain, which is well known for being one of the most romantic spots in Rome. A couple of the girls even gave in to the rose-sellers who are always around the Trevi and bought a couple of roses, one of which I was the lucky recipient! The next day a few of us were sent out on a mission to get the tickets for the papal audience the next day. We were successful! I wrote up a special report for class about the papal audience on Wednesday that I thought I'd share with you all! Here it is:



Pope Benedict XVI!



It seems to be something like a dream for a Catholic soul to experience the powerful blessing of the pope, the glory of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the simple beauty of rain falling from heaven onto an upturned face all in one day and in the heart of the church! This dream has become a reality for me, through the grace of God brining me to study in Rome this semester.
            We all gladly got up early in hopes of getting in line early enough to get good seats to be close to ‘Il Papa’…our Holy Father! After fighting off the pressing crowds and running past the Swiss guards, we secured some great aisle seats near the front. After waiting a couple of hours, we cheered like crazy when Benedict XVI finally came out! It is an incredible thing to be so near the Vicar of Christ, the visible presence of Christ here on earth. A gift of this sort is very precious to the growing Catholic heart. We were even lucky enough to get our names read when the English speaking groups were introduced. To hear “The Students from the University of Mary from Bismarck, North Dakota” being announced in front of the pope himself was really thrilling! We were sure to cheer as loudly as we could so that we could enjoy a wave from him and we were met with success! The wonderful audience was completed with a final blessing from Benedict, which I was sure to let settle deep into my soul for the next few moments.
            Just when we thought our morning was complete, we stepped out into St. Peter’s square to find it pouring rain! A couple of us umbrella-less students, filled with the excitement and joy from the morning, ran out into the middle of the square to dance in the rain! To feel the drops of rain on my face reminded me of being caressed by the warmth of God and His grace. Receiving this wonderful gift from God while standing in the heart of the church was something I’ll never forget!  

After such an incredible expereince, our day was made!

The last couple of days we've spent letting ourselves visit some of the wonderful sites over again. We re-visited the Colosseum, the forum, and spent some time in Piazza Navona, my favorite piazza in Rome by far! We were also able to visit the Church of St. John Lateran today, and spend some time praying there. This church is the very heart of the Catholic faith...it's the Cathedral of Rome! The church contains the relic of the table on which Jesus would have celebrated the Last supper! It was wonderful to pray in front of this table, on which the first Mass was celebrated, for the priests of today, who are still offering Masses 2000 years later. The chair that the pope sits on when he makes an infallible statement (statement which the Catholic church proclaims is certainly true) is at the very front of the church. During such a statement he is said to speak "ex cathedra," meaning "from the chair." It's powerful to be in the place where so much of church history took place. The church is also lined with beautiful statues of the apostles...probably some of the most majestic and beautiful statues I've seen!

Thank you all for continuing to keep up with my adventures! It's exciting for me to share them with you all. Have a wonderful day!

Some of the girls, all dressed up for community night!