Easter in Rome and the Universality of the Church

This semester the four Holy Cross seminarians studying abroad in Rome had the opportunity to attend both the Good Friday service and Easter Vigil Mass with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica. After standing in anticipation for hours on end waiting for Vatican security to open, we survived the rush for seats. If you have never been to a papal Mass at the Vatican, especially Easter Vigil, there is no line; rather there is a crowd that seems to have mob fever from standing in the warm Italian sun all afternoon. Unfortunately, the only thing I can think to compare it to is Black Friday. So, after being carried through security by the enthusiasm of the Vatican crowds we made our way into the basilica for the Easter Vigil and were blessed to have seats within the first five rows. Although it was glorious seeing the pope process in with the Easter candle, in spite of the many people trying to help the Easter light with their camera flash, being so close to the front that the pope was more than a white spec in the distance, and celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass over the bones of St. Peter, the first of the Apostles to enter Christ’s tomb on that Sunday morning so long ago, what struck me most was the universality of the Catholic Church. Each of the readings (yes all of them) were read in a different language, which still did not represent all of the different nationalities present. However, of all these languages, never before have I had such an appreciation for Latin. Yes, it is not the easy to understand vernacular, but in a congregation from literally all over the world, it is the common language of prayer. We did not know what every single word meant, but we were able to follow along because we knew the Mass and especially the Latin Mass parts. I am thankful that our home congregations have sung the Sanctus, Mysterium Fidei, and Angus Dei during various liturgical seasons since we were little. Before, they had all felt so odd and different, but here they were the way in which we could pray with the world.

Happy Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Bryan