CHIAVARI, Italy - For the
past few days the Italian television airwaves have been taken over by the
religious Easter festivities in Rome. Here in Italy the celebrations officially
start on Holy Thursday with the Mass of Chrism, (holy anointing oil).
This mass includes the reading of the Passion, which chronicles Jesus’
capture, suffering and death.
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| Vatican, Rome |
Later in the day, at the
Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Pope Francis will wash the feet of 12 men,
following the tradition of Jesus and his Apostles. Both masses
mark Christ's founding of the priesthood at the Last Supper on the night before
he died.
On Good Friday, the day of
Christ’s crucifixion in 33AD, the Pope says mass in the Basilica of St. John
Lateran (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano). St. John’s was built by the
Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. Constantine was
the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and St. John’s is the
cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. It is known as Omnium urbis et orbis
Ecclessarium Mater et Caput – the Cathedral of Rome and of the World.
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| Via Crucis, Rome |
On Friday evening the Pope
leads a torch-lit procession from the Colosseum to Palatine Hill (Via Crucis
Procession), and at pre-designated stops, they recite the prayers appropriate
for each of the Stations of the Cross.
The Easter Vigil mass at the
Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica will start at 9PM on Saturday night. No lights
will be lit. The Basilica will be shrouded in darkness until Pope Benedict XVI
enters. He will be carrying a long, white Paschal, a special Easter candle
decorated with gold leaf.
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| Pope Francis, Holy Friday Mass |
From the single flame of the
Paschal, twelve candles are lit and from those twelve, hundreds of other
smaller candles will be lit, one by one, until the entire church is bathe
in candlelight. As the candles are being lit, the Pope will proceed to the altar
and begin Mass by saying:
“Brothers, on this most holy of nights, in
which Jesus Christ our Lord passed from the depths of death to life, the
Church, in every part of the world, calls on its children to keep watch and
pray.”
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| Pope Francis |
He will be dressed in a gold
robe, called a chasuble, with a white and gold stole around his neck. On his
head will be a precious gold and white mitre encrusted with jewels. Versions of
the chasuble and the mitre were part of the normal clothing worn by the Romans
in the early days of Christianity, and were adopted by Christian clerics.
The Romans wore hats that were very similar in style to the mitre, and the
chasuble is simply a variation of the robes worn throughout the Roman
Empire.
The colors of the Pope’s
chasuble and mitre are important as colors represent qualities such as virtue
and holiness. The gold color of the Pope’s chasuble symbolizes what is
precious and valuable. It also symbolizes majesty, joy and celebration, and
because of its brightness, metallic gold, like that found on the Pope’s miter,
symbolizes the presence of God.
Under the chasuble he is
wearing a white robe. Visible is a part
of the collar around his neck and the edges of the cuffs under his sleeves. The
color white has long symbolized purity, holiness and virtue, as well as respect
and reverence. It is used for all high Holy Days and festivals.
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| Easter Mass, Vatican |
Easter Sunday is joyful. The
Vatican altar is filled with flowers in anticipation of the mass that will be
said there to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and his Ascension into
Heaven. The Pope shares this special day with the thousands of faithful
followers who gather in St. Peter’s Square to see him. He stands before the
crowd and delivers his message of peace for the Urbi et Orbi (the
city and the world). After the Urbi et Orbi message, which is broadcast
throughout the world, the Pope blesses the crowd.
You can participate in all
of the Easter events and and information on how to do that is available
on the Vatican web site (www.vatican.va). And it is all free. You do need
to make reservations for everything however, including the Sabato Santo (Holy
Saturday) mass at the Vatican.
You can also make a
reservation for a Papal audience on the same web site. Some tour operators have
been known to charge large amounts of money for a Papal audience, but there is
absolutely no charge . Actually you are better off if you organize your own visit.
You just have to do it well in advance as tickets are limited.
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| Invitation for a Papal Audience at the Vatican |
To reserve a place at a
Papal audience go to this page of the Vatican website http://www.vatican.va/various/prefettura/index en.html and
click on the “continue” button at the bottom of the page. It will take you to
an application form that you can download, fill out and return to the Vatican
office. The form must be sent by fax or mail (no email) - the instructions are
on the site - and when your application has been processed you will receive
instructions regarding your audience and where to pick up your tickets.
It's a good idea to stay
until the end of the audience as that is when the Pope will bless everyone in
the audience and those who can’t be there. And if you take your medals and
rosary beads and other items to the audience, you can then give them as gifts
knowing that they have received the Pope’s personal blessing.
Happy Easter.
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