Cappuccino, Mass, The Tiber, and A Castle

We attended Fr. Michael’s first mass at Di Guadalupe. Before we could do so, we had to wait for the current mass to end, so we got cappuccino at a bar across the street. We then sat in a vacant room at Di Guadalupe and everyone chatted while Jason and Michael signed mass cards for everyone. There were plenty of jokes about how much they would be worth and the value of them before their first mass as opposed to after. The mass was very intimate and Fr. Jason’s homily about Michael and brothers in the Bible was extremely nice. There were plenty of Legionnaires in the back singing throughout the mass. It was honestly one of the most heavenly sounds I have ever heard.

Afterward, we went back to the apartment that Pete and Bonnie Dumas, Mrs. Mitchell's parents were sharing with Linda, Mrs. Mitchell's sister, and her kids. Everyone chipped in money and the boys went out to negotiate pizza prices. The view from their apartment window was amazing. It looked out onto the Tiber and the traffic below. If I had been staying there, I probably could have just sat and stared out the window for hours, which is basically what I did while I was there. I spent time with Mr. Mitchell, Ben, Peter, little Michael, Sarah, Anna, Allie, Andrea, Krista, Michelle, Theresa, and Jen before the pizza arrived. It was delicious and on a thin crispy crust, Italian style. My favorite was probably the cheese with tomatoes on it. Once all twenty pizzas were devoured, negotiated at a price of 7 euro a piece by Fr. Jason, we organized ourselves to make the trek to the Castle of Sant Angelo. On the way there I got some pretty good pictures as we walked along the Tiber. I had wanted to go on a walk along the river, since it was something I enjoyed doing with the Liffey in Dublin and the Thames in London. People always go with the cliche, “I like long walks on the beach”, but I personally like long walks along rivers. Fr. Mike and Fr. Jason gave us an excellent tour and history lesson. The view from the top of the castle was amazing. Jen and I had fun taking pictures with her daughter Allison and we managed to get left behind in the process, but we eventually caught up with the rest of the group.

When we finished at the castle, we walked over to the Vatican and Fr. Michael gave us a tour of St. Peter’s. The Pieta statue just about moved me to tears. He explained the vandalism and repair of the statue, which is why it is now behind glass. He also explained the optical illusions within St. Peter’s to make it seem more welcoming and homey. The letters of the words that Jesus spoke to St. Peter that run around the top are four feet tall, but they don’t look it. There are also statues on the top and bottom of the pillars. Those on top are actually twice the size of those on the bottom, but they look to be the same size. We were also able to see a couple of the popes whose bodies had not decomposed, but were in contact behind glass coffins with their own altars.

After leaving St. Peter’s, we all went to buy religious articles to get blessed by the pope. I got rosaries for my family along with a sweatshirt for my sister. The whole group of us ventured to Old Bridge Gelateria for an end of the day snack. I got nutella, amaretto, and chocolate. It had to have been one of the most delicious combinations ever.