Thursday, September 27, dawned clear and cloudless. this was the day on which forty of our Fourth Year men were ordained as deacons - typically the penultimate step before ordination as a priest. as deacons, they are now permitted to perform baptisms, marriage ceremonies, and assist at Mass (although they cannot celebrate Mass on their own). if you're interested, more details can be found
here.
Nick had been rehearsing with the choir for weeks for this event, and along with the other choir members and seminarians, he had special access tickets to get into St. Peter's Basilica, where the Ordination would take place. he had warned me that the service would likely take at least two hours, and even though i knew the girls wouldn't last through the whole service, of course i still wanted to be there for as much of it as they would tolerate.
the service began at 9:30 AM and i planned to arrive at the basilica around 10. as fate would have it, the line to get through security was the longest i have seen it before or since -- it wrapped all the way around the square, past the post office. i didn't have any sort of special access pass, so we were stuck. thankfully, we struck up a conversation with a lovely Polish woman who was visiting St. Peter's for the first time. we overheard someone else mention that the Vatican Museums were free that day (a complete surprise to me -- they're free on the last Sunday of every month, but on a random Thursday? turns out they are free every September 27 for World Tourism Day. even though the entrance to the museums is a fifteen-minute walk from the entrance to the basilica, unsuspecting tourists get confused all the time, so i figured the line was probably gargantuan because people were mistaking it for the museum line).
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| we had been waiting in line for about 30 minutes by the time i took this picture |
anyway, by the time we made it through security and dropped the stroller off, it was almost 11! thankfully i had brought snacks and small toys to entertain the girls. we entered the basilica and all i could hear was the murmuring of tourists -- no music, no prayers or any sound at all coming from the apse. with a sinking feeling i wondered if we'd missed the entire thing. we walked towards the front of the church, and there, way up at the Altar of the Chair, were over two thousand people participating in the Mass. and my fears were completely unfounded -- they were only halfway through the service. but as we were arriving so late, the Vatican staff had blocked off that entire section of the basilica, so we couldn't get any closer than the old bronze statue of St. Peter. thus we could barely see the altar, couldn't see the men being ordained, couldn't see Nick and his choir ... but we could hear them, and that was enough!
you, dear reader, however, have the advantage of seeing these beautiful pictures of what was actually going on up there, a football field away. many thanks to the
PNAC Facebook page for filling in the gaps.
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| Nick conducting the choir |
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| the Prostration -- a posture of obedience and humility, assumed while the presiding Bishop, priests, and congregation recite the Litany of the Saints and pray for the newly ordained clerics |
now, you'll get some sense of the vast scale of the basilica when you see what our view looked like. the best i could do was to tuck the girls into this little alcove between a massive pillar and the wooden barricade, so they could peek around the corner and try to comprehend what was going on.
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| if we were in a stadium, this would be considered the nosebleed section |
nevertheless, it was wonderful. the choir sounded heavenly, although we were so far back that the sound from the speakers was sometimes drowned out by the umpteen tour groups traipsing along behind us. when the men sang Ave Maria, tears sprang to my eyes. there is something so holy, innocent, and steadfast about a man's love for his Mother.
the sound quality is so poor, it doesn't do them justice, but i had to try!
the girls squabbled occasionally, but each time i reminded them that "Daddy's up there! that's Daddy's choir singing! he worked so hard practicing for today!", they quieted down and listened with fresh ears. then Greta began protesting that she wanted to leave, so i gave her my phone to take pictures, and while she snapped away, i let myself soak up every bit of this gloriousness. one of the many things that attracted me to Nick in the first place is his incredible work ethic, not to mention his musical talent and networking skill. i never doubted that he would go far. but i also never imagined that one day i would stand in St. Peter's Basilica, watching my husband conduct the choir, listening to the clear voices of the men with whom he'd been working so diligently, bursting with gratitude and pride and amazement. i will treasure this memory as long as i live. and Greta, bless her, took a picture!
finally, almost three hours after it began, the ordination was over. the new deacons, garbed in gold, processed out, and i blinked back tears once again. i can only imagine the pride and emotion their parents must have been feeling.
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| the choir, the organist from St. Peter's Basilica (in suit and tie), and Nick (far right) |
we walked up the hill to the college in a jubilant procession and streamed through the open gates to avail ourselves of the reception in the
cortile (courtyard). the girls were a little suspicious of the sandwiches (some of which were studded with olives) but devoured the little pizza rosettes (imagine what Totino's pizza rolls would look like if they were actually real food, and you'll be close). and then, wonder of wonders, they found several kids to play with! a few of the families in attendance live in Naples, and we look forward to seeing them again at other major NAC events!
we also had the pleasure of chatting with John and Susan again. so many people traveled so far to attend the events surrounding the ordination -- it was quite moving to realize that the NAC community extends, literally, around the world.
the new Deacon Gregory graciously invited us to his dinner reception that evening, at a classic Italian restaurant on the Appian Way. he had recommended taking a taxi, but i couldn't decide which would be worse -- lugging the girls' carseats around and having to stow them at the restaurant somewhere, or NOT putting them in carseats for a thirty-minute drive in Roman rush hour traffic. well, i think not putting them in carseats would be worse, but it just seemed like in our particular situation it would be more hassle than not. so we took the bus, and it was mostly fine (!). we arrived late since our connecting bus only departed every 20 minutes, but thankfully it was a huge group, the service was family-style, and they had only just finished the appetizers.
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| bruschetta, bufala mozzarella, prosciutto |
this restaurant, the
Cecilia Metella, is built near the tomb of Cecilia Metella, the daughter of a Roman consul. but there was nothing morbid about the place on this particular night! several of the other new deacons were also hosting their dinner receptions here, so the whole restaurant was full of jubilant tables, lots of toasting and applause. the restaurant is known for its
scrigno alla Cecilia, baked green pasta bubbling in cheese, and it remains one of the best things i've eaten here so far.
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| Cecilia was definitely living her best life |
Deacon Gregory gave a thoughtful and poignant speech, thanking his parents and his brother (who is also a priest!) and sister. at the same time that he began his remarks, an Italian singer on the other side of the restaurant began an exuberant aria, which lightened the mood a little, but i did feel bad for him as she just kept going higher and louder and hiiiiigher and loooooouder. we all toasted him and the other new deacons and then enjoyed delicious dessert!
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| the waitstaff was great and made sure everyone had plenty of food and wine! |
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| Cecilia's face when she saw the cake ... you can practically see her mouth watering |
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| yum yum! |
after thanking Deacon Gregory again, we walked out into the cool, starry night to catch our bus back into the city. as is becoming typical, we waited for about half an hour before one showed up, but Nick kept Greta occupied playing shadow puppets on the wall, and there were several other Italians waiting too which made me feel like at least a bus
was coming.
home to bed, and then an early wake-up in the morning for Deacon Gregory's first Mass! all of the new deacons had their first Masses around the city -- again, they cannot celebrate Mass on their own, but they can now assist in numerous ways (including giving the homily). Nick played the organ for his mass, and the girls and i walked over separately. i only have a few blurry photos from the mass, but it was so special to be there and we're so grateful that Deacon Gregory thought to include us.
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| Deacon Gregory and his brother, the priest, who celebrated Mass |
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| Chapel of St. Thomas of Villanova |
i also had the pleasure of meeting Sister Cecelia Clare, whom Nick knew through Franciscan University, and two of her sisters who were in Rome for an unrelated visit. they also attended Mass, and then joined us for
caffe near the Piazza Navona. the girls were enamored with them, and Greta persuaded one of them to walk right up to a street performer holding a "statue" pose. this picture sums up everything that is Rome:
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| wildly overpriced cappuccino, but it came with this little cookie and the location couldn't be beat! |
and there you have it -- the biggest day(s) of the year so far. we are privileged to get to know these men, and we continue to pray for them!
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