An Audience with the Pope
It’s a quarter past five in the
afternoon and the sun is a blinding edgeless halo behind the dome of Saint
Peter's Basilica. Standing out among the ocean of people, Bernini’s matching
two-leveled fountains sentry idly in the left and right wings of the elliptic
part of the Square, between which centers the Obelisk - the solitary Egyptian effigy perhaps
in the entire Vatican city. On the thoroughfare roofing the
pillars outlining the ellipse are angels, led from the middle by Christ Himself
and His apostles in front of the Basilica’s dome. Everything in sight is welcoming
the endless battalions visiting this trapezoid Mecca of Catholicism.
While taken aback by the baroque
divinity of the site, I can't ignore the unusual enormity of the crowd. Almost
the entire elliptic part of the Square is jam-packed and even more people are
proceeding inside. Are they expecting a Mass or is this Square always casually
this crowded? Alas, none of the people I ask for information speaks English,
but whatever is going on now, I think it ought to be big.
Curious still, I see the crowd
glacially advances into the frontmost part of the ellipse just before the
Basilica's doors, where a stage is set up. As the heavens is now velvet-colored
and the Basilica lit in yellow, I queue along and I realize that this might
mean I'm going to attend a Mass in the biggest church in the World. A big deal even for a non-Christian, like yours truly.
Night occupies and the entire Square
is now dense with faithfuls. Yet instead of a Mass we are given performances
from musicians whom, it seems, I alone am not familiar with. The still
unbearable remnants of Italy's winter chill begin to wane my willpower. Is this
worth the wait? Is -what- worth the wait, anyway? What is going on?
As I prepare to retreat, suddenly I
hear the crowd chanting “Benedicto” and it dawns on me: the Pope. I might just
see the Pope tonight.
That sounds like enough reason to
stay.
Finally, three hours of musical
ensemble later, His Holiness marches from the left wing into the Square on His
Popemobile. Unintelligible shrieks clog my hearing as the entire Saint Peter
Square sees ‘Papa’ arriving.
Having no religious attachments, I
simply see the Pope as a famed figure; but when he waves and looks at me from
the car as it passes me by, I stand corrected. I don’t need to be a Catholic to
bask in his…holiness, for there are people who make that big an impression on
others just by “being”. Engulfed in the still rapturous screams of others, I
followed the papal car with my eyes as it speeds away, delivering its holy
passenger onto the stage.
The agonizing wait is paid off by
that single glimpse at the Holy Father. I no more need to know what’s
going on. I am void of questions.
