We just got back to our accommodations in Segni after an incredible experience at the Canonization Mass. Word is going around that almost six million people were present in Rome today for the Canonization! This just goes to show the impact that these two great Holy Fathers had on the Church and the lives of many individuals.
We left Segni this morning at 3:30, making it into Rome around 5:00am. As soon as we stepped foot off the bus the adventure of getting to St. Peter’s began. Our goal was to make it into the square for the Mass. It was slow going for about the whole morning until around 8:30 when we finally made to the edge of the square and at the front of the human barricade letting pilgrims enter in groups at a time. After having to practice much patience (with others and the tight situation) we finally made it so as to enter the square, but barely. Nonetheless we can say that we were in St. Peter’s Square for the Canonization of St John Paul II and St. John XXIII!
We left Segni this morning at 3:30, making it into Rome around 5:00am. As soon as we stepped foot off the bus the adventure of getting to St. Peter’s began. Our goal was to make it into the square for the Mass. It was slow going for about the whole morning until around 8:30 when we finally made to the edge of the square and at the front of the human barricade letting pilgrims enter in groups at a time. After having to practice much patience (with others and the tight situation) we finally made it so as to enter the square, but barely. Nonetheless we can say that we were in St. Peter’s Square for the Canonization of St John Paul II and St. John XXIII!
What a beautiful Mass it was! The only real difference between a canonization Mass and a regular Sunday Mass comes at the beginning of the liturgy. To begin the Mass today, there was the singing of the Litany of Saints. Then, after the introductory rite there was a series of three petitions made by Cardinal Amato (Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints) and the postulators of the cause of each saint, whereby they ask the Holy Father to make the solemn declaration of sainthood.
The petitions are a unique aspect of the Mass and they reflect in an excellent way the Church’s theology of the saints. There is a moment after the first petition where the Holy Father says that the declaration of a saint is not for the saint’s honor alone, but for God’s glory and the building up of the entire Church. Secondly, it shows that the Pope’s decree is not his work alone, but an action of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Father prays for two special graces before the declaration: that God may sustain this work with his grace and that the Holy Spirit may enlighten the whole Church so as not to err in such an important event.
Then there was the singing of the “Veni Creator Spiritus”, followed by the solemn Formula of Canonization declared by the Holy Father and the procession of the saints’ relics. From this moment the Holy Mass preceded as normal. And we were witnesses to it all!
After Mass we made our way back to Castel Sant’ Angelo in order to reunite as a group. Along the way, some of us were gifted with the chance to see the Holy Father in his motorcade. We were absolutely thrilled when he looked our way, gave us a big smile and his blessing. We were ecstatic! After sharing the thrill of the moment we continued on our way to the meeting point. Once everyone was present and accounted for at Sant’ Angelo, we went in search of gelato as a way of continuing the day’s celebration. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. As we were enjoying our treat I even heard one of the girls say that today was the best day of her life. For that we must thank God, and our newly canonized saints.
We are all now back in Segni resting and preparing for dinner. I am sure that tonight at dinner we will share and relive the highlights of today. Then, I think that what we have just experienced will truly start to sink in. More importantly though, I hope that each one of us will be moved to follow the examples of the Church’s newest saints, so that we too may grow in holiness for God’s glory and the building up of the Church.
St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII, pray for us, our families, and the continued fruits of our pilgrimage!
Br. Christopher Etheridge
IVE Seminarian
The petitions are a unique aspect of the Mass and they reflect in an excellent way the Church’s theology of the saints. There is a moment after the first petition where the Holy Father says that the declaration of a saint is not for the saint’s honor alone, but for God’s glory and the building up of the entire Church. Secondly, it shows that the Pope’s decree is not his work alone, but an action of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Father prays for two special graces before the declaration: that God may sustain this work with his grace and that the Holy Spirit may enlighten the whole Church so as not to err in such an important event.
Then there was the singing of the “Veni Creator Spiritus”, followed by the solemn Formula of Canonization declared by the Holy Father and the procession of the saints’ relics. From this moment the Holy Mass preceded as normal. And we were witnesses to it all!
After Mass we made our way back to Castel Sant’ Angelo in order to reunite as a group. Along the way, some of us were gifted with the chance to see the Holy Father in his motorcade. We were absolutely thrilled when he looked our way, gave us a big smile and his blessing. We were ecstatic! After sharing the thrill of the moment we continued on our way to the meeting point. Once everyone was present and accounted for at Sant’ Angelo, we went in search of gelato as a way of continuing the day’s celebration. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. As we were enjoying our treat I even heard one of the girls say that today was the best day of her life. For that we must thank God, and our newly canonized saints.
We are all now back in Segni resting and preparing for dinner. I am sure that tonight at dinner we will share and relive the highlights of today. Then, I think that what we have just experienced will truly start to sink in. More importantly though, I hope that each one of us will be moved to follow the examples of the Church’s newest saints, so that we too may grow in holiness for God’s glory and the building up of the Church.
St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII, pray for us, our families, and the continued fruits of our pilgrimage!
Br. Christopher Etheridge
IVE Seminarian