I've walked to St. Peter's
Basilica hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. I guess I always
associated the Vatican with the Pope. One Pope in particular, of
course: John Paul II. The only pope I'd ever known.
So April 3rd was a weird walk to the Vatican...because it was the first
time I'd go there knowing John Paul II was no longer our pope.
I knew things were really gonna be different when I headed towards the
Vatican and saw so many people. This street is never crowded! And it
was just the first sign of what was to come in the days ahead.
When I got to St. Peter's Square, I was amazed at the number of people
already there.
And because I'm selfish, I
also wondered if I'd be able to squeeze my
way through the crowd and be closer to the action.
(Thankfully, because I'm a greasy Italian - I slide by people pretty
easily...so I got as close to the front as possible.)
At these big events, you
always feel so far away from everything. But then you look behind you
and realize...
Oh, I guess I don't have a bad view after all.
And after congratulating myself for negotiating a better view - that's
when I looked up at the papal apartments.
I used to live in Rome, and
my apartment was only a few blocks from the
Vatican. Some nights I'd just sit in the piazza by myself (much like
now, I didn't have much going on) and I'd see the lights on the top
floor were lit. I pictured John Paul the Second working, or praying, or
whatever he was doing...and it was just cool to know he was there.
Just me and him. Of course,
he had no idea I was there.
And looking up today,
though, and knowing he was gone? That was just
tough to believe.
The Mass that day was offered by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and I doubt
there has ever been a Mass more interrupted by applause.
Every time Cardinal Sodano mentioned John Paul II's name, or anytime
JPII's image would appear on one of the giant monitors, it was like
being at a game show when the giant APPLAUSE sign lights up. It was
both touching and kind of humorous at the same time.
We were all there to say "John Paul II, We Love You" just one more
time. But apparently we didn't want to quit saying it.
