My Churches in Roma

So there are a lot of churches here. Too many to possible visit in a lifetime Id say. So im going to highlight two of them that I have had some experiences with. First, St. Pauls within the Walls.

In France, I found a great international church in French that instantly became a favorite part of my weekly routine. Due to that great experience, I sought out a similar church here in Rome. St. Pauls Within the Walls is located near the Piazza Repubblica and holds international services on Sundays at 15h. I went for the first time last week and was amazed at all the nationalities present. The service is nondenominational, welcoming all outsiders regardless of core beliefs. The pastor speaks in English (and sounded quite American) and it is translated on the spot into Italian. It was rather powerful to be sitting in this BEAUTIFUL Church in Rome with people from all over the world, praising God and praying together. Quite the moment.

Another great experience occured in St. Peters Basilica. Officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and is one of the most well known churches and is located within the Vatican City in Rome. It occupies a "unique position" as one of the holiest sites and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom." In Catholic tradition, it is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, was the first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. (Wikipedia)

St Peters Cathedrale can hold up to 60,000 people is now the stomping grounds of Pope Benedict XVI. I left at 7am to attend a 930a mass and just barely got in (so i think we were at capacity). After an 1/2 hour wait outside, I approached the metal detectors and a man yelling -Advanced ticket holders only! TICKETS? I was not aware you need a ticket to go to church. Considering the pile of people milling about, I decided to chance it and see if I could get in. I avoided all eye contact, stuck in gob of people as they checked tickets and got in problem free! I did feel rather guilty sneaking in to THE church of the entire catholic world but hey I did not want to wait for nothing (and the museum in contrast to the guidebook was closed and therefore not free). So I was seated to the right of the alter, thus able to see the left profiles of Pope Benedict and his large entourage of ArchBishops during the 2.5 hours mass. The service, in a mix of languages as usual, was quite bizarre in my opinion. I felt as though I had wandered into a sporting event by accident. The Pope would say something then a group of the crowd would stand and cheer, then he'd switch languages and another group applauded, and on it went. The Bishops received honors of some sort and people would cheer for them as well. First of all, growing up WELS you do NOT clap in church. So that in itself was weird but honestly i half expected the Pope to start doing acrobatics or something to really earn recognition! = )
The entire crowd was offered communion in the end- and I thought oh my Lord this is going to take forEVER. But with that many archbishops and other men of the cloth around, it went pretty quickly because after all catholics only receive the bread and not the wine. After the Pope blessed the cup and bread (followed by bells respectively) the bishops took their positions and feed the hungry! It was nearing 12p at this point. So we all were herded out after a blessing for the entire group and giving 'Peace be with you' greetings to those around us. I took some great pictures on the way out. So I went to Catholic mass in the most famous church in the world. Its a shame I couldnt understand most of it.