Friday 8 April 2005

What a morning! The beautiful Roman sky was a bright blue above the Dome of the Basilica of St. Peter. The people who spent the night huddled in the streets began to stir again around 6:00am when the city opened up allowing people to queue up to enter the Piazza. Here at St. Monica we had prayers at 6:45 after which I made my way toward the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the Basilica; the meeting place for all of the Eucharistic Ministers. A walk that usually would only take 10 minutes took a little less than an hour this morning, which really was not so bad considering the crowds outside. I found things to be very organized. There were 300 of us to distribute communion and after receiving our stole and surplice we waited in front of the Altar where Blessed Pope John XXIII remains. Here we gathered for quiet prayer as we could hear the Cardinal Camerlengo Eduardo Martines Somalo leading prayers for the ritual when they placed the body of John Paul II in the cypress coffin which was carried into the Piazza at 10:00. While waiting in line for us to proceed to our places, Cardinals, Kings, Presidents, Princes and various religious leaders passed by us going through the Basilica to take their places outside. At this point I still wasn’t sure if we were going to be standing inside for the whole service and then brought outside for the Eucharistic Prayer and distribution, but then we started to move and we took our place in the rows behind the bishops and opposite the Heads of State of the various represented countries. Just before 10:00am the giant bell began to toll again bringing with it a reminder that things were beginning. No matter how much I thought I was prepared for the funeral, the emotion that overtook me when they first carried out the cypress coffin carrying the Pope surprised me. All of us stood motionless with a sense of shock. Perhaps it was the starkness of the box on the shoulders of the pall bearers, or the quiet which at first filled the whole place and then was broken with the now familiar Italian custom of paying tribute to someone with applause. In reflecting on that image I was reminded of the fact that this man whom millions came to pay homage was a human being like everyone of us. Cypress trees are planted around many of the cemeteries; their tall thin stature symbolizing one’s soul rising up to heaven.

There was a beautiful breeze blowing through the Piazza, sometimes making it difficult for the Cardinals to keep their zucchettos on their heads. On a morning that could have had a sun too strong for some of the elderly Cardinals in attendance, the breeze made for a comfortable experience. I kept thinking that the Holy Spirit was letting everyone know that she was there for this solemn occasion. My mother has a great devotion to the Holy Spirit and when my brothers and sister were growing up, the Holy Spirit told my mother EVERYTHING we did. I pray that the Holy Spirit is speaking as clearly to the Cardinals who will gather for the conclave 10 days now, as she did to my mother!

Cardinal Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, presided and preached at the funeral. He reflected on the life of Karol Wojtyla and used the image of “the window” in his homily comparing the times that John Paul II offered blessings from the window of his home in the Apostolic Palace and now is offering all of us blessings from a window in his new home with God. At times, the Cardinal seemed to be caught up in emotion. Karol Wojtyla must have been a good friend of his and it must be hard for him to have to say goodbye after all of these years.

At the Creed and Prayer of the Faithful, we were escorted back into the Basilica to pick up our ciboria which we carried out onto the steps directly behind the main altar. We remained there throughout the Eucharistic prayer, but as the Our Father began we were escorted to our stations for communion. I am truly impressed by the fantastic organization of how this whole liturgy ran so smoothly. I thought for sure that once I left the Piazza and was walking down via della Conciliazione that I would never make it back to the Basilica. I was pleasantly surprised at the relative ease and efficiency that went with the distribution. When we completed the distribution there were clearly marked paths back through the great Bronze Doors of the Apostolic Palace leading us up the stairs and then turning into the Basilica. We returned our empty ciboria, our stoles and surplices and were escorted back out of the Basilica to places which were down on the main level behind where various delegations were seated. From there I was able to have a different perspective of the services.

Once again, I felt so blessed to have this experience. We witnessed the blessings from the Eastern Churches, and the final blessing with Holy Water before the pall bearers solemnly processed in from the side, genuflected and then carefully lifted the cypress box carrying His Holiness onto their shoulders. The Organ was playing, and the Great Bell began to toll once more. People began to cheer and applaud in saluting this man who led the Catholic Church for over 26 years. Men, women, and children were all crying and waving goodbye as the procession turned to go to the entrance of the Basilica. Before going in, the pall bearers turned for everyone to once again pay tribute to this man. This time, however, the waving that was taking place no longer looked like a goodbye but more like a blessing. People were reaching out with both hands; some needing to sit overcome by emotion, others standing on chairs to have a better view. To me it really looked like a blessing coming from the gathered people. Dignitaries on the upper level, and some very young children in the Piazza were all offering their blessing as John Paul II was carried away to the place under the Basilica where the rite of Committal took place in private.

For a few minutes after the procession was out of sight and no longer on the big screens, all of us in my section stood still, silently wiping tears away, listening to the tolling bell and trying to savor every blessed moment of what just took place. I will never forget this day…..