FAIR WARNING: This is a long one, and should be.
Yesterday's activities carried a theme of thanksgiving and completion, with many delegates merely thankful that by some miracle - here I recall the Br. Rodolfo effect - we were able to complete our work within the planned time period. In most contexts, Brothers would now be packing up and singing "leaving on a jet plane; don't know when I'll be back again." But this is Rome, and the Vatican's cupola may be seen from the roof of the Casa Generalizia.
Through well-established Church channels, arrangements were made for the members of the General Chapter to have a private papal audience in the Apostolic Palace at Vatican city. Today was all about that visit and experience, and no other activities were planned for, except for an evening 6:45 pm prayer service. The arrangement was for 100 places, and therefore some others from the Casa Generalizia were able to come as well.
The two buses were waiting for us in front of the house by 8:30 am, and at 8:45 am we drove away toward the Vatican. I am constantly amazed by the drivers of these giant buses who are able to negotiate the smallest gaps between cars and streets with apparent ease. We ended up in an underground designated bus garage that I had never known existed, a vast space right next to the Vatican but entirely underground. When we emerged, we were a short block away from Saint Peter's square, and we made our way to the middle of the square because Br. Alexander from the Communications Office wanted us to take a group photo there.
It took some organizing, but soon the entire group assembled itself into a large group with Saint Peter's as our background. Perhaps the efficiency of doing so is because most of us had done this with student groups for years. As he was taking the photos, many tourists in the area came over and did the same thing, impressed with the large group of religious. And at the last minute, he handed the camera to a nearby tourist and ran over himself to get into the photo, with the rest of us cheering him and the instant volunteer.
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There was a very long line of visitors waiting to go through the metal detectors, but we were shepherded to a section behind the columns where eventually we all went through one of the detectors, dutifully emptying our pockets of metal that was sent to the scanner and walking through the detector. Many Brothers set off the sensitive alarms as they walked through but were waved through anyway.
When everyone had made it through - this took some time - we went into Saint Peter's through the great doors on the right side of the square, escorted by a Swiss guard who took us up many stairs. He walked quite slowly, and I soon figured out why. There must have been about 200 steps that climbed up, each set a little more slowly than the last. They were wide and we were crowded together, but we all came to realize that this was a very large place.
When we arrived at an ornate hall at the end of the last set of steps, we were stopped and had to wait until Br. Antxon arrived from the back of the crowd to speak with the usher (?) about previously made arrangements. Some Brothers, including the new and former Superior Generals, had come to the Vatican with Br. Rodolfo and had already been escorted in by some other means; he does have his connections. But this hall, it turned out, would not be the location of our papal audience. When we were let in, we were led through a few other rooms and finally came to a very ornate smaller corner room with large windows and very impressive decorations. It is called the Sala del Concistoro. Look it up. It has a long history and is used for major gatherings of cardinals, bishops, and other groups.
As planned and announced yesterday, the former and new General Council members would sit in the first two rows, and the next two rows on the left side would be occupied by the "choir", those of us who volunteered to lead the rest in singing "Honneur a Toi" at the very start. The others in our group spread out as they wished. We had been told that no photographs were to be taken by our phones during the papal audience, although we could do so from our places beforehand.
Having arrived in the hall at 9:45 am, we now waited until 10:15 am, the scheduled time for the visit. The Brothers talked among themselves, photographed the walls and ceiling and each other, or simply quietly contemplated the room and the upcoming event. The feeling in the room was like the semi-anxious expectation during the election of the Superior General in the Aula Magna, but with the added elements of quiet excitement and awe to be able to be with Pope Francis.
Here is a man who is probably the most photographed person in the world today, and the leader of over a billion Catholics. Yet not only would we be in the same room with him, but it was announced that he would greet each one of us at the end, and those wearing masks could take them off as we came forward.
When 10:15 came and went, and 10:30 came and went, we began to wonder what was happening, since usually the efficiency of these visits is impressive. At one point, someone who like the master of ceremonies, complete with tux and medallion chain - probably an ancestral position of Roman nobility - came in and spoke with those in front. It was announced that he was running late because there were two other groups that he was speaking with (and probably greeting personally). As a result, we would now NOT sing the Honneur a Toi, and the visit would consist of Br. Armin's speech, the Pope's talk, and the greeting with each person.
There was a tripod with a video camera set up in the front corner. When a well-dressed man came in and began activating it - everyone here is either dressed very formally (Master of Ceremonies), formally (videographer and photographers), or uniquely formal (Swiss guards and the pope) - we knew that something was afoot. Then a couple of folks popped their heads in to look around. This was followed by two photographers loaded with sets of cameras and other gear that would be the envy of any SWAT team. Now we knew that that our wait was over. The doors closed ... quiet, somewhat tense anticipation ... briefly opened slightly ... and then were opened. Some 3-5 seconds later, Pope Francis was brought into the hall in his wheelchair, quickly followed by two bishops or archbishops (I'm not enough of a Catholic trivia fan to be able to tell from their outfits). Pope Francis was placed in the middle, and the two bishops sat on either side.
When he came in, he gestured to us and smiled, then settled into a relaxed pose. I was struck by the fact that he looked serene but also smaller than I'd anticipated, distinctly frail and older. We had stood and applauded when he came in, and after he was placed in front, the ushers gestured to us to sit down again. Br. Armin walked over to the microphone and read a short speech that is no doubt posted on the Institute's website. It was informative and personable. The pope smiled and brightened up when Br. Armin reminded him of his visit to the Philippines and the shouts of "Vivo Lolo Kiko!" that greeted him everywhere. As instructed earlier, the talk was not more than a page, but it was rich in imagery and well crafted. Afterwards, he walked over to the pope and warmly shook his hand.
Then it was the pope's turn. The bishop on his left had been carrying a formal, large, red fuzzy folder which he now opened. He brought out about five pages with large print, handed them to the pope, then quickly turned around to bring a portable microphone stand forward and adjust it for him. Pope Francis then delivered what turned out to be a very good, encouraging, and inspiring talk in his usual style. Once he went off-text to extend part of his message, looking directly at us and wagging his finger in a style that all of us are familiar with from seeing him at similar events on television. When he did that, his personality suddenly emerged, and he did not seem as tired (weary?) as he had seemed at some points. We do have to remember that he is over 85 years old, and he may be experiencing what old Br. Wilfrid had told me once: "You know what's so bad about getting old? You die in parts!" The world knows that it is his knees that are being blaimed. But it appeared to me that the general effects of age were beginning to manifest themselves.
The strange thing, of course, is that most of those in the room, including me, did not know Italian. The folks who were or knew Spanish could probably get the gist of what he said as he said it, and those who had worked in Italy had come to know conversational Italian well enough. But for the rest, it would be tone and delivery that conveyed his message. And I was just happy to be there to witness his presence with us, appreciating his dedication and courage as his literally never-ending role continued.
At the end of the speech, we applauded of course. And then suddenly four or five other ushers came into the room. Quietly, at the front of the small aisle on the left wall, another chair had been set up during the talk, and a tall priest came to sit there. The ushers set themselves up to guide us up to the front for our greeting with the pope, one of them had a basket of rosaries and placed himself at a position where each Brother could be given a rosary as he made his way back to his place, and the mystery priest stood next to the pope, perhaps to interpret or make sure we didn't do anything funny. The whole thing was orchestrated as if they did this all day - which they probably did - as smoothly as silk, the photographers poised to take yet another set of photos at yet another papal event, much more busy than any SWAT team member ever is.
Starting with Br. Armin, the first two rows lined up, had their 3 secons of contact, with four flash photographs taken in quick succession, and were ushered away and back to their chairs. The Master of Ceremonies was the one who would touch the elbow of the next person who was to go forward and greet Pope Francis, while the sub-ushers guided us into the line or away from the greeting. These guys would have been welcome at any high school liturgy for their professionalism, efficiency, and no-nonsense disposition - even sophomores would be cowed.
I was in the third row, and so my turn came fairly early. Funny enough, I don't remember much about the actual handshake except seeing a quiet, unruffled, one might say holy face of someone who knows how important this greeting is for people and is doing his very best to make sure that he can be present for that person, even while by this time he must have done this thousands and thousands of time. The enjoyment of the papacy, if it even exists, is likely to soon be challenged by constant obeisance, close attention, high expectations, and the knowledge that every gesture is seen, interpreted, and impactful. The fact that this pope does not take any vacations, as far as I know, is evidence alone of holiness and the effective power of grace. The one thing I said to him, although it's unlikely to have been understood, is "I pray for your courage." The priest next to him didn't blink, so he wasn't an interpreter. But then this also didn't qualify as funny business, so I was safe to return to my chair, having dutifully picked up my rosary.
It took a while for everyone to go up for the greeting. At one point, apparently there had been a change of mind regarding the singing of the Honneur a Toi - perhaps it was the rustling quiet of the room - and Br. Jacques, our designated singing director, squeezed into the main aisle, raised his arms, began the song, and directed the group in singing the refrain, first verse, and refrain - all in French, of course - with those going up to greet the pope walking around him and his directing gestures. I must say that we all sang with enthusiasm.
At the end of all the personal greetings, the very very large man who had pushed the wheelchair into the room - it looked like he would be capable of picking up the chair with the pope in it and carry him away - returned and began to push the wheelchair out from the front. We stood and applauded, thinking that he was leaving. But the pope looked up, gestured for us to sit down and indicated that the chair would be placed between us in the center aisle, facing the front, so that a group photo (of sorts) could be taken. This was another very thoughtful gesture that had evidently been pre-planned. This pope is savvy enough to know that such a photo would be widely shared and appreciated.
We sat very still, although this is not a 1920 camera, as the photographer raised the camera up high and took a few photographs. Then Pope Francis reached over and shook hands with Br. Armin again before being rolled away to his next gig, with all of us standing up and applauding once more. When he had left, it was as if the room were suddently and noticeably more empty in some strange way. In any gathering, each person contributes a presence, a bundled locus of experience and attention, that enlivens that of others according to the degree of interaction. In this case, this small interaction with Pope Francis had been such that each of us was deeply touched by his presence, and we missed that piece already because we knew that it was very unlikely to be ever repeated.
The group was ushered out via a different set of doors at the back, and the phones came out once more to take photos of whatever we could as we were escorted down sets of stairs and through one long hallway with windows overlooking the internior plaza below. One of the rooms that fascinated me was the chapel of Redemptoris Mater, entirely covered by mosaics in the oriental (Byzantine) style, but in a rather modern way. After I came back to the Casa Generalizia, I went online and found its history, even taking a virtual tour. There is a lot of packed history and artistic beauty in evidence at the Apostolic Palace.
We also ran into any number of Swiss guards. Some Brothers were keen to pose next to them, eager to bring back photos to their native countries. And the guards were quite tolerant about this, until finally they made us take the next set of stairs down to the Saint Peter's square, especially since I was in the last group to leave, with a plain-clothes Swiss guard behind us to make sure that all of us had left. Once in the square, there more more photos, of course, among small groups of Brothers, or selfies with another Brother, like any other tourist might do. A couple of Brothers had brought backpacks, stuffed their robes into them, and took off for a walk in the city.
I found myself with some of the Brothers from Africa, Lebanon, and France. One asked Br. Antxon when we would have to be back at the bus in the underground bus terminal. He shouted to us as he was walking away, "Noon!" (in French). This meant that we had forty minutes to wander around. One Brother said that he would like a beer, and so we walked around in a group, finding an outdoor table where the Brother Visitor from France and I had a small beer while the other three first went to find some religious souveniers to bring back to Africa. Earlier, I had spoken to him about coming to Paris to learn French, and we began to communicate in my bad French and his rather better English, although haltingly, which included helping me understand some basic French phrases. When the others came back, it was 11:40 am, and therefore we would have to start our way back to the bus.
On our walk back, Br. Louis sent a text to Br. Julio, a member of his liturgy team, letting him know that we were on our way back. Br. Julio texted back, saying that he was on the bus and they were on the way back to the Casa Generalizia. After some further frantic texts, it became clear that both buses had left for home, having left a half hour after the conclusion of the audience. (It turned out that Br. Antxon had not known this either, and he also missed the bus.) Now what?
The only reasonable thing we could do was walk to the Ottaviani Metro stop and make our way back to the Casa Generalizia that way. About halfway there, I suggested that we might as well have a nice lunch somewhere, since there was nothing scheduled for the afternoon, and the noon meal was nothing to write home about. They quickly agreed, and so we ended up at one of outside restaurants, happily having pizza and another beer. Conversation flowed in mostly French and some English.
After the meal, we made our way to the Metro stop and so back to the house. All of us were in our robes, of course, but this didn't seem strange either to us or to others. Romans have seen religious habits for centuries, although probably less so in the last fifty years. Some clearly had known the Brothers or attended one of their schools, based on their smiles or quick photos. One couple called out to Br. Louis and turned out to be his former students from Lebanon; like him, they were in Rome for a short trip. Small world.
This evening, we had a final prayer service that includes some active involvement. Papers and scissors were distributed so that we could create paper images of our hands, which were then filled with words representing the things that had contributed to our vocational growth over the last year. Many of the Brothers failed to remember their kindergarten training and had a hard time following the instructions about how to create these paper hands. But it was a nice way to end the day.
Perhaps this blog has been a bit lengthy, but the day's events deserved greater attention. It's good that nothing else had been planned for the afternoon, because it would have been useless to do so. The experience at the Vatican deserved some time for processing, absorbing, appreciating, and settling in.
