2 Popes+Andrea Bocelli=Blessed!

Ciao!

I am so excited to tell you about this experience of a lifetime that I had! Get ready, you're in for an awesome read and tons of pics! :)

To keep it brief ( as I do not have much energy at the moment)- We (40,000 people) celebrated the Holy Mass with Pope Francis in honor of grandparents/elderly. ** Jeannie, I prayed for you, for continued good health and happiness!** 
I woke up at 4am, headed over to St. Peter's Square at 5am. I was the first one there! Slowly, people started trickling in...I met a nice American couple, so we stuck together, (as they have never been to St. Peter's and had no idea what t expect.. not that I fully did either...but I had a general idea) We waited for 2 hours, and watched the beautiful sunrise over St. Peter's







When the guards let us in, it was like letting a pen full of cattle run loose! We all started running to the front, and I made it to the 10th row from the front!! Perfect view of everything/everyone! 





















A special person showed up- Pope Emeritus Benedict! The two Popes' embrace was beautifully tear-jerking! Heard Andrea Bocelli sing live "Time to Say Goodbye" in Italian. By far, the best day of my journey in Roma. Thanks be to God for all these blessings!


 Then another holy man appeared... someone I have been dying to see! PAPA FRANCESCO!

A number of elderly people came up to share their stories to Pope Francis, which was beautiful. I was able to understand bits and pieces, which made me super happy! 

 I caught Andrea Bocelli meeting Pope Francis on the Jumbo-tron! Awesome moment!  Pope Francis got in his Popemobile, and sped through the crowd...Unfortunately, he didn't come in our aisle, but it was close enough for me. ( That doesn't mean I don't want to meet him..I certainly do, I just am content with just being able to be there...In time I will meet him hopefully)

Now, when Mass was concluded, everyone (including 2  obnoxious little kids) around me wanted to get my spot, in hopes that they would meet the Pope. There was a lot of shoving, (almost fell 3 times because of inconsiderate individuals...grrr)  glares, and general craziness. I was not letting go of my spot that I rightfully earned... Not a chance! And it ended up that Pope Francis didn't come to us... So it didn't get as crazy as it could have..(almost) thankfully. But it would have been AMAZING to meet Papa.

A chance of a lifetime was well spent, and I am so happy that I got this opportunity..I am forever thankful! :)


This week will be a quieter one, as we one of our classes that meets 2 times a week is only meeting on Friday... time to rest and get my energy level back up!

On Thursday, I will be attending a Deaconate Ordination in St. Peter's Basilica! Yet another chance of a lifetime opportunity (as it will be in the Eternal City....!)


Peace and Blessings!

Spontaneity never hurts!

Ciao Friends!!

I want to apologize for not posting in a few days, like I said I would... One thing came up after another, and by the time I was finished and back home, I was too tired to write about it all! Which is a good thing! It means I am enjoying my time and taking every opportunity to enjoy Roma! So I will break up my weekend in 2 posts. The first will be of Friday and Saturday, and the second will be of today, Sunday. Consider yourself as warned- might be a lot to read, but as always, I promise it is worth it! :)

To begin, what I was going to confirm for you was that I was going to have the opportunity to attend a Papal Mass with Andrea Bocelli singing at it. Well, this was confirmed on Friday morning, and I picked up my ticket from the Swiss Guards- which was an intimidating experience, but awesome at the same time. As I was walking up the stairs towards the Swiss Guard, he yelled something and I halted! I thought he was talking to me- I thought I had broken some sort of rule (don't know what that would be..trying to break into the Vatican?? haha...) So I slowly inched forward, and realized what he yelled was to his friend, telling him that I was there. I spoke some Italian and asked for a ticket, and there it was- I got a ticket! Here it is below! I will be framing it when I get home!

Since I had to wait in the long line, I thought I might as well go into the Basilica... So I did, and just took some time to reflect. One thing I reflected on was the Pieta. Michelangelo's work. Fun fact (not so fun for the Pieta): a few years ago, a man took a hammer to the Pieta, out of anger to the faith and it was in severe condition. Pieces went flying and tourists picked them up and never returned them, unfortunately. So they had to do major work on the Pieta- i believe they had to completely take off Mary's arm and reconstruct it. So now they obviously have glass protecting it and a guard.... People these days... so sad that they go to such a crazy extreme. 

Another fun fact (this one is actually really awesome for everyone involved unlike poor Pieta): The second picture is of Pope Paul VI grave, and he is being beatified here in Rome on Oct. 19th! I will be in Assisi and Venice that weekend, but this is pretty awesome! :)  

After this, I saw a line for going up to the Cupola (dome) of St. Peter's. It was 5 Euros to take the 551 stairs up to the top- so I took that challenge! I loved it... but it did make me pretty dizzy! Round and round we went! Part of the stair case was slanted (2nd picture)... so we were leaning against the wall trying to get up this hallway! The first picture is looking down on the people from the inside of the Cupola! So cool... if only I knew at that time what I was in for next...!

Got to the top...and outside... this is what I saw.... OH MY GOSH. I'M SPEECHLESS. 

 
The statues picture: the ones top of St. Peter's are about 20 feet tall.. give or take a few feet! They seem small until you get up right next to them! Wow.

So there is my spontaneous adventure of Friday!

Saturday, I went to Mass with the NAC Seminarians who are working with us students at the Basilica of St. Augustine at 7:45am, which was very nice, and then saw some of Michelangelo's Caravaggio's. They are exquisite. Then we got Cornetti after (croissants)- I got mine with chocolate in it- I should have known it would be Nutella- To Europeans, Nutella is their chocolate... Soooo good!!! :)

If I thought 7am was early to wake up, try 4am! To be continued...Up next: Papal Mass!

Peace and Blessings!

Blessings Ahead!

Ciao!

Happy Thursday! Tomorrow, I will have been in Rome for 1 month! Woah, time has flown by!

So, this week has been a great one! So much joy all around! I am waiting for it to be confirmed, but tomorrow I might be telling you something really awesome that I get to do on Sunday! So stay tuned... and say a prayer that it all works out! :)

Tuesday and Wednesday have been probably the best days of the week so far. Tuesday, it was class as usual, which was very interesting... I love the material we were learning. It is awesome to learn about major historical events that happened only a few miles away from you... So cool! After Italian class, a friend invited me to go to Mass with him, and this was not usual Mass for me. I went to my first Traditional Latin Mass!! And I have to say, I absolutely loved it! It was quite the experience, and I am glad that I went!
Directly after that, I came home and thinking I would be resting as I hadn't been home since 2pm, and it was now 8:30pm. My friends stopped me in my tracks and said, "let's go to dinner!"  My friend was meeting her friend from back home, so I have a new friend! This friend just so happens to be interning at the Vatican....So what I will hopefully be sharing with you tomorrow is happening all because of her....someone I have only known for about 3 hours at the time. After dinner, we walked in the city and had a great girls night out in Roma. Here are some pics:

 Piazza Navona fountain at night!

<---(Cali friends and fam: If you can see it, look above the waiters head (1st board on left.... Cali represent!!!)
















Wednesday was a long day, as I have 3 classes (starting next week, I will only have 2 classes on Wednesday!) We went on a class site visit to St. John Lateran Basilica. Loved it! Late last night at 11pm,  right before bed, I decided to call my beautiful grandmother in SD. She thought that I made her day.... well Jeannie, YOU made my day end so perfectly! I love you so very much!
Thunder and lightning last night was absolutely insane! There was one that felt like it was in my ear, and I screamed... as did half the girls on the floor! Ha! But nothing is as soothing as falling asleep to the sound of rain! :)

Stay tuned.... hopefully I will have some news to share tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

Peace and Blessings

Anne

Oh look! A fire!

Ciao! 

Crazy adventures love to follow me around! For the past 3 weeks, there has never been a dull moment! Everywhere I have gone, something either funny, ironic, scary, or mind-blowing (in a good way) happens. So, I will tell you what happened today. Get ready... You're in for an adventure of your own!! 

First, I will say I am alive and well. Thankfully. I hit the floor running this Monday morning... Last night I rememebered that I had a very important meeting to go to, that being my fingerprinting appointment at the Immigration Office. ( Yes, I have been illegal in Rome for the past 3 weeks..all of us students have been...) 

So I thought my appt. was on Tuesday, so I wasn't thinking much about it. Then, last night my friend asks me if I was ready for tomorrow.  I responded confused and then it hit me that I was in for a treat a day early than I was expecting! Oh boy, I'm just sooo excited! Not! :)

All 12 of us had the same class before we went, so we got through that and started on what would end up being a 5 hour journey! We got to the immigration office and we saw our friend who was supposed to have his appt at 11am. Ours was at 12. He was still in line!!! And it was already 12. He didn't get through until almost 1. Then we got thru at about 1:45. Yikes. Oh did I mention that I haven't had food all day? Ya, smart move, Anne... While waiting I read a book because  I knew we would have to wait a while... Everyone else didn't think to bring anything- they thought it would go fast... Sorry but I just have to laugh at that one...nothing with government involved goes fast... Let's be honest here. It's the famous "hurry up and wait" game....

When I walked in, I felt like I was going into a prison!!...

The military official let us in and we turned the corner to find we had to wait in a security check line. Here comes the good part... The waiting seemed fast as we were occupied with the huge brush fire that had started a few minutes prior that was only about 100 yards away and coming closer.... WHAT!!!?! GET US OUT OF HERE! The quite alarming part was that NONE of the officials cared about it. They didn't move a muscle! Everything went on as if nothing was happening. See, if we were in America, we would have already been evacuated and 10 mi away from it! This is why we were a bit concerned for our saftey...At this point I say to myself, "I did not come all this way and go through all of this paperwork for the past 6 months to die in a fire!!! Move it along and make me leagal already, and take all of this paperwork off my hands. I am sick of it!" Welcome to Rome...? 

It's hard to see the fire but you can see the smoke clouds: 

We get upstairs and wait for our named to be called and I get called rather quickly  and get fingerprinted... I thought I was done after that. NOPE. I have to go through it all again in a different part of the office. This is the funny part... I was nervous for obvious reasons, tired because it was Monday, and hungry (ok that's my fault, I got it). The guy, who spoke English, looked at me and said, "RELAX, RELAX, RELAX". * Mom and Dad, are you suprised at that? I guess I didn't learn from last time in LA... Hehe* I gave him control of my hand and let him do the fingerprinting and "tried" to  relax. 

The best part... The line I have been waiting to hear for 6 months, " il fine, Bye Bye" ( all finished, bye bye)!!!! I'M LEGAL!!! The process is behind me and I don't have to deal with it anymore! Thank you Jesus!!!!! This is better than becoming legal in US when I turned 21! Haha! This is a process I will be glad to forget. I think I have a well- deserved Gelato with my name on it! :) 

This is called Frigidarium. It kinda tastes like cookies and cream, but 10,000 times better. Dipped in chocolate. A taste of Heaven. This place is located on the way home from Italian class... Uh oh. :P

Have you had enough yet of my crazy adventure stories!? I'm not! It keeps life interesting! 

Peace and Blessings!

 

R&R Part 1!

Ciao! 

Friday was quite the day! We had class out in the city. We had to be there at 9am and so we woke up at 7am and left at 8am. We met at St. Maria in Cosmedin, also known as where the Mouth of Truth is.   
We were able to be a "tourist" for a moment see and put our hand into the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth)...and then we went back to being a "student". 

Instead of looking in a textbook and seeing the pictures of what we were learning from 2,000+ years ago, they were right in front of our eyes. Woah. 

While on our class walk, we came upon many cats who own the area of 4 old temples. These cats are known to the city, and are taken care of by the people. They are adorable! No big deal... just some cats roaming around ancient temples calling it their home :)

After the tour, I had a meeting with a priest for Confession at St. Peter's. We were at the Pantheon, and it was 12:40pm. My meeting was at 1pm. It takes about 25 min to get there walking. I didn't have time to trust auto transportation, so I booked it and made it there at exactly 1pm, only to find that the priest was 5 minutes late!!! I can't say that I wasn't exhausted after that quick adventure. Thank God I love walking...  :)
Now, this part is so awesome that I still can't believe it happened. While he was hearing my confession, we casually walked around the walls of St. Peters. Only in Rome can you do that, and no one looks at you funny. It is a pretty common thing to see a priest blessing someone in the middle of the street (and I was one of them!) ONE OF THE BEST CONFESSIONS EVER.

By this time, I still had to walk 15 min to get home, and I was EXHAUSTED! TGIF!

Happy Sunday! Boy, this weekend has been great! What have I been up to? NOTHING. I have only left the building twice since Friday night. Why, you may ask? Well, I wore myself down pretty good with all that I have been doing in the last 3 weeks, so my body was starting to get sick because I wasn't giving myself proper time to rest. I wasn't feeling the best, so I unplugged from almost everything and just rested and relaxed (and did homework). Also a little gift- my roommate has been gone for most of the weekend with family, so I have had the room to myself! Sometimes its nice to have some alone time. It's good for the soul-this time has been very good for my soul. The same thing will happen next weekend, as my roommate will be in Venice for Honors trip, so I will be taking the weekend to see some of the sites I have not yet seen in Rome- after next weekend, we will not have much more time to do so because all the traveling begins! So I am making sure I get it in! :)

This week will be a busy one, but a blessed one!!! Oh my.....it's almost October!!!  I still can't believe this is my life right now...and to know I have 13 weeks left of these amazing adventures...La vita è bella!

Peace and Blessings!

Packed Sardines

Caio!

I was writing this as I sat on the floor at St. Peter's Square enjoying the beauty before me, as well as people watching. People watching is always the best...and watching the changing of Swiss Guards ( I didn't post this earlier as I didn't have time! Now, 2 days later I am getting to it!) 

So, for class, we were going to the Catecombs of Priscilla. We were to meet our professor by 8 at a Piazza and then get on the 8:15 bus to the Catecombs. Now, of course there has to be some sort of crazy adventure in the trip... And there definately was! Some of the class was a bit late. So we decided to leave them to find it on their own, as the tour started at 9am. As we were deciding to stay or leave, we saw the one bus we needed. My professor looks as me, and says' "should we run for it?" I responded, "why not! Andiamo! "(Let's go!)" So we did and saw that the bus was packed beyond belief and there were 20 of us..... Uh oh... 

We squeezed on the bus like a can of sardines, a bit close for comfort ( but thankfully we knew each other...) 

Too bad 5 of them didn't make it... And so they waited for the next one...cutting it a bit close! 

We get off the bus and my professor looks around and says... "Oops"... I say, "Dont tell me we are lost!!"  No, he said, we just got off 3 stops too early, so we will have to walk a bit more... Lovely. Just what I want to do at 8:30am. We walk and all of a sudden he says, " it's supposed to be here, where is it!?" Seriously, not again...! We finally found it, with 5 min to spare. Phew! Now, the kids that didn't get on with us called me and asked to talk to the Professor... I handed him my phone and be told is he would be back becuase he was going to go get them.... Ok then... Don't get lost and don't lose my phone, I said... Thankfully he made it back with them and we all proceeded on the tour... 

Our tour guide was super funny- as we walked along, at one point some do the group was talking over him and be says, "shut up!" A second later, dead silence. "Wow that worked, he said" we all laughed becuase we couldn't believe he just said that and he was like, " I could say it in Italian, but you wouldn't understand and it wouldn't do any good. 

Now, we weren't allowed to take any pics  ( you can look it up though and see pics...). Anyhow, the tour was amazing!!! The Catecombs go for 8 mi... ( you have to have a guide... Or you would get lost and they wouldn't be able to find you for hours... If at all). Very interesting and kinda scary as we saw many dark places and caves that we rather not know what was in there. Other than scaring my friend half to death, we made it out and had a nice adventure back home to make it to out next class at 11:15. We got back at 11am. Cutting it close, yet again. 

Later that night, a small group of us had Gelato with the amazing Seminarians at Pope Emeritus Benedict's favorite Gelato shop. Gelato never gets old and never disappoints. I feel fine eating it a lot because I walk everywhere 24/7, unlike a lot of my friends who take the bus and Metro. (I only use it if I have to) 

Today was a long and busy day, but pretty good. The weather is starting to change and clouds are coming more often. I don't like that- I need the sun! I'll live though, rain or shine :)

Tomorrow will be even longer. We have a 4 hour walking excursion out in the city with our class seeing many sites. This means I really need some rest now so I don't look like a zombie in the AM. :P Buonanote! (Goodnight)

Praying for u all- Peace and Blessings! 

A Whirlwind Weekend!

Ciao!

Wow, I can't believe I last posted on Friday! The weekend escaped me and now its Tuesday! Ahh time is flying by way too fast! So much Roma...so little time'a! (Lizzy Miguire: Gordo reference)...be prepared to read! :)

To begin, Friday night at the NAC with the Seminarians was amazing! We had a great 'American' meal consisting of chicken, mashed potatoes and salad-wine and water (WITH ICE CUBES! Restaurants here normally don't give you ice cubes with water, so having it that night was glorious, and it was a humid night so it made it that much better! The little things we take for granted is astonishing...)
While at the NAC, they took us to the roof, where they have one of the best views of St. Peters. After, they took us to get Gelato at one of the best places in Rome! what a blessed evening! Here is a pic!

We got back on Friday at almost midnight. I decided I was going to join my friends on a trip to MonteCassino, which is 2 hrs South of Rome by train. I asked what time we were leaving and they said 6am on the dot. I looked at my clock and it was already 12:45am. By the time I got to sleep, it was 1:15am. But, I woke up fine at 5:30am and got myself out the door at 6am and to the Metro (around the corner) we went. The train ride was beautiful! The sun was starting to rise, and we looked out the window and the sun had come up as we were passing some ruins. It was one of those moments where you are speechless and thankful to God for such a beautiful moment. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of it because we were going to fast.

We got to Cassino and were in for a great adventure! We felt like we were dropped off in the middle of a deserted place. It was a small town. We waited for the bus to take us up the mountain. There were NO bus signs anywhere. We didn't know what to do, so we just waited and as time got closer we were looking at every bus hoping we wouldn't miss it because it only comes twice in the day. Long story short, we got on the bus, and the driver was flying up the mountain! At first, there wasn't any seats for us to sit down so I was holding on to the bars for dear life because this guy was breaking so horribly, and then would gun it. I was falling into my friends and things were dropping on the floor... it was literally a struggle bus! I don't know how that guy has his license! Yikes! Thankfully we made it up the mountain alive and in one piece! Phew! This is where we went: MonteCassino Abbey: St. Benedict founded it) 

We were not "on" cloud 9, we were "in" Cloud 9....

                                                   The Basilica... such a peaceful place!

             mountain side view! Breathtaking! 

 

We walked around the groups for a good 2 hours, and looked from the balconies with awe and amazement in our eyes. We couldn't believe what was before us. Just greenery, clouds and beauty! It brought tears to our eyes! Below, there are pictures of my friends who I went with! They are amazing travel buddies! We left around 2:30pm and got back to Rome around 4:30pm. We were wiped out, so we canceled our plans and decided to take it easy for the night instead of go out to the Pub. What a adventurous day!

3 amici waiting for the bus to take us down the mountain! We were the last ones left.... We thought for a minute that we had to hitchhike ;)
**No, Mom, we didn't... we thought about it... but we knew you would kill us... especially being all girls!**





On Sunday, we went to a Mass at St. Agnes of Agone, where a Cardinal presided, and the Mass was in 3 different languages. If you think going to a Mass in a language you don't know if difficult, try going to one where they are 3 being spoken all throughout Mass..Now that is a challenge. I accepted it and was still able to say the responses in English! I was so proud of myself! What a brain-testing day! It was time for a nap...But not yet! We went to our favorite Irish Pub for lunch where we had a craving for some American food because we were feeling a bit homesick. Now, that was delicious! Then we got Gelato... obviously! So delicious! Now, time for a nap!! What a great weekend! :)
How can it be Monday already!?? (almost Tuesday as it is already 11:30pm) I woke up at 8:45am this morning... I had class at 9am...and I made it fine. :)
Time for some needed rest! Let the amazing adventure continue....Only God knows what is in store for me tomorrow... And I say, "LET'S LIVE IT UP!" :)

Peace and Blessings!

Anne

"Scala Sancta"

Ciao!!

First off, I want to thank you for your thoughts and prayers, as they helped me tremendously to get through this week! I am doing much better now that the week is over and I can rest!

So, last night, I had a wonderful dinner at a place called Spaccio Pasta with my roomate and had some amazing Gelato afterwards. It was a nice reward for getting through the week and doing well.

Today, we woke up at 8am and got on the Metro to San Giovanni, where the Basilica of St. John Lateran is (see pic below paragraph). I had to meet a friend at 10:30 so we "church hopped" for a while. We went into Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. I took a seat in one of the pews for some personal prayer time which was well needed, while my roommate explored the church. It was a peaceful few minutes. I will go back for class one of these days, so I will have plenty of time to see the church in depth.

On a faith note, It seems that I have been put into many situations recently that force me to get out of my comfort zone, and to completely let go of doubt and fear and put my faith and trust in God, that He will lead me safely to where I need to go, because I do not know where I am. This morning was another one of those times, as I had absolutely no idea where I was, and where I needed to go. I didn't know how to get to my friend, so I simply prayed this prayer on repeat: "Lord, I have no idea where I am but I know that you do. I ask you to lead me safely to where I need to go. You are asking me to trust in You leading me, so in faith, Jesus, I trust in You." Prayers like this seem very simple, but they work wonders in my faith life, because I recognize that I can do NOTHING without Christ, and that He is the One leading me through this journey called life. It may be scary at times to completely surrender and let Him take over, but in the end, it really is the best thing we can do as His children- to let Our Father lead us :)

You will be happy to know that I did arrive where I needed to meet my friend, and with 10 minutes to spare! I didn't get lost, I was guided directly there with no problems! (Thanks God... I knew I could trust you...and the GPS!)

Speaking of Doubt, Trust and Faith, I happened to come across a statue of St. Thomas the Apostle (Doubting Thomas)-see pic below

One of my favorite Scripture passages (something for you to reflect on)- "the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

My roommate was in the process of climbing on her knees the "Holy Steps" or "Scala Sancta" in a church nearby (these are claimed to be the very steps that Jesus climbed when going before Pontius Pilate during His Passion.  The 28 steps were brought to Rome by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great- and they are covered by wood to preserve them). Now, before one can do this, they have to go to the Sacrament of Confession and receive Communion. In doing this, it was stated by Pius VII that you gain an indulgence of nine years for each step. Then Pius X added that one must go to Confession and Receive the Eucharist. I will be climbing these Holy Steps in the near future. Beautiful!
                                            

Ok! Enough for now- it is time to get ready for dinner with the Seminarians at the NAC!!!

You are in my prayers!

Peace and Blessings!