Rome Pilgrimage

From September 22 to September 29th over 100 people connected with the Anglican Use converged on Rome as pilgrims hailing from such places as Scranton, San Antonio, Arlington, and Houston. I was a happy member of the Scranton contingent led by Father Eric Bergman, the newest of the Anglican Use Pastors. Father Phillips and Deacon Orr of Our Lady of the Atonement, San Antonio, led their group, which included the choir of Atonement Academy. Father Noble and Deacon Barnett of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston led their group, and there was a group led by Father Hart of Corpus Christi, Texas. Father Hawkins of Arlington, Texas put in an appearance during the pilgrimage. Archbishop John Myers, the Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision, was already in Rome, and he and his Secretary, Father Stetson met with us and participated in most of the liturgies. Bishop Vann was also there. So all in all, most of the Anglican Use was there in Rome. The Archbishop, Father Stetson, and Bishop Vann stayed at the North American College, and the rest of us were in hotels. Our hotel was about a mile from the Vatican. Joe Blake, the President of the Anglican Use Society flew over to be with us for a couple of days and to hold a meeting of the Anglican Use Society Board of Directors.

The Archbishop met us for Mass at St. Peter’s Chains on Sunday shortly after our arrival. I had prepared music for the Masses Sunday through Wednesday, and we had a combined choir of 14 people. On Monday the Anglican Use Mass was at the Venerable English College. On Tuesday it was at the North American College, On Wednesday we went to the Papal Audience where we had preferred seating. Some of the Anglican Use Pastors were able to greet the Pope. In the evening the Novus Ordo Mass was at St. John Lateran. On Thursday the Anglican Use Mass was at St. Susanna with the Atonement Academy Choir singing. In the evening we sang Evensong with Cardinal Law at St. Mary Major, and Friday the Novus Ordo was celebrated by Archbishop Angelo Amato in Latin at St. Peter’s with the Atonement Academy singing.

Aside from Masses, our time was taken up primarily with touring the sights in Rome and eating in restaurants. The favorite dish in Rome seems to be macaroni and cheese with bits of bacon. A plate of that can cost as much as €12.00! I went with the Houston group to the Taverna dei Gracchi, just up the street from our hotel. The waiter asked, “Quanti personi?” and I answered “dieci”. He opened a double sliding door and there was a formal private dining room with a table set for ten. I knew then that we were in trouble. The whole meal cost about €700, and the waiter wasn’t even Italian; he was Greek! From champagne to grappa we were treated with the best meal you can get in Rome.

The high point of the touring for me was the Scavi Tour in the excavations under St. Peter’s. There you may view the relics of St. Peter. The whole Vatican is exceedingly impressive; that goes without saying. But when you cut through all of the pomp and extravagant excess of art, which really makes you tired if you try to see it all in such a short period of time, you realize that what it comes down to is that little box of bones lying only a matter of yards away from where he was crucified upside down. This is the most important thing. The pope is a prisoner in the Vatican, only a few yards away from that famous tomb, and he must have the worst job in the whole Church; everybody wants to greet him personally or to give him a gift or something, but the man cannot possibly greet everyone personally. So he greets and blesses the crowd, and he greets a few in the name of the many. For us, when he greeted some of the priests in our group, we rightly felt that we were being given special recognition. I viewed the tombs of all of the popes who lived during my lifetime, from Pius XI to John Paul II. They are all buried within a few yards of the bones of St. Peter. And the present successor of Peter, except when he is traveling, is always very near this place, and he must know that his bones will soon rest there in the same crypt too. Please pray for Pope Benedict XVI.