Today was (is) Easter Sunday, and Katy and I decided quite awhile ago that we would go to mass at the Vatican. We pulled ourselves out of bed at 8am, downed a double shot of espresso, and met up with Andrew, William, and Eda to walk to St. Peter's.
We thought arriving two hours before the start of mass would be plenty of time, but there was already a huge line when we got there at 8:30. Also, we were under the impression that you only needed a ticket to be inside the basilica, but as it turned out, the mass was held entirely outside, so you did need a ticket (which we didn't have!) By some amazing stroke of good fortune, there was a group of five or so nuns waiting in front of us. Katy asked them if we needed tickets, and if so, where we could get them. Then one of the nuns turns around holding a whole pile of tickets, and asks us how many we needed. We ended up actually getting seats!! It was incredibly lucky. If we had left the Cenci even a minute later, we wouldn't have been behind the nuns, and wouldn't have gotten as close as we did. The rest of the square beyond the seated area was PACKED to the brim. St. Peter's square itself is a half mile long, and imagine that filled with an infinite amount of people. So yes, I felt very fortunate.
Just before the mass started, what had been the perfectly blue and sunny sky started slowly filling with rain clouds. The area over St. Peter's was still sunny, but all behind us was a huge, menacing cloud, and we started to feel some rain drops. Then all of a sudden, some divine intervention happened and the sun burst through the clouds, and the huge rain cloud quickly retreated. Then throughout the whole service, no matter if it was cloudy anywhere else, the sun shone on St. Peter's the entire time, and when one cloud passed over it, there was still a halo of blue sky arched over the dome. Now I'm not religious in any way really, but damn if that wasn't some sort of sign.
The mass proceeded with a lot of singing (boys' choir!), a variety of languages, different members of the clergy speaking, and random interjections by the Pope, who would briefly say a few words, shake some smokey things around, and sing/chant in a cracking voice. Mostly he just looked really old and fragile. There was one deacon (we think that's what he was?) who strutted up to the podium in a completely gold robe ensemble, whipped off his sunglasses, and started reciting things, with a soul patch, might I add. Then he put back on his sunglasses, and held up the most fancy, gold-covered bible to the Pope, and strutted away. Respect.
Despite not being Catholic, when communion started, Katy convinced me to at least get a blessing (because taking communion would be sacriligious), and I'm glad I did. We ended up leaving around 12:30, and I'm so happy we got to go, it will be an experience and memory I won't ever forget. POPE!
After the Vatican adventure, it was time for the EASTER EGG HUNT. Yesterday, Christina, Alice, and I spent the afternoon buying candy, and later in the night stuffing tissue paper with the goods, in preparation for today. Around 1:30, we hid all 90-something of the "eggs" throughout the public spaces in the Cenci, and let all the EHP-ers at it. I don't have any photos of this event, but it seemed to be a big hit, and Ezio's daughter Emma even joined in! So much fun!
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