Sunday, Sunday

After breakfast on Sunday, 15 Sept 2013, I checked with the front desk of my hotel to verify that the pope would pray the Angelus at noon in the piazza.  They told me that the pope would be saying the 10:30 AM Mass at St Peter's!

I hurried over to St Peter's, and asked one of the guards in the Piazza if the pope was saying the Mass in the Piazza, or in the Basilica.  He said in the Basilica, so I got into the line for the security checkpoint.  It stretched across the piazza to the end of the southern arm of the colonnade. 

When I got into the Basilica, everything seemed like the other days I had been there.  The number of people was about the same, the main altar was not adorned with candles, tourists were wandering about, chairs had not been set up in the nave. 

The Mass was to be at the altar of the Chair of St Peter.  I passed through the opening in the barrier, which was manned by a couple of guards, who wanted to know if you were going to the Mass.

There were some extra seats arranged in the area of the altar of the Chair, and most of the pews and the seats were already filled.

When the bell tolled, and everybody rose, the priests processed in.  There were about fifty priests who were concelebrating the Mass, half a dozen bishops, and three Cardinals.  Pope Francis was not there.

After Mass which ended at 11:45, many people, including me, went toward the exit of the Basilica, so we could be in the Piazza for the Angelus at noon.  However, it was raining pretty hard outside, and some people started clogging up the sides of the exit because they didn't want to go out in the rain, but wanted to be in the doorway.

Just outside the Basilica you could see the window that the pope appears at, but not very well, and at a severe angle, the only way to go was toward the exit and down along the one side of the piazza.
The piazza was packed with pilgrims, everyone holding up an umbrella, with the rain pouring down on us.

When the pope came to the window, you could see him, but hearing him was problematic with the rain and the crowd noise.  His image was projected onto the Jumbotrons, so you could see him clearly.  When we prayed the Angelus, it was in Italian, but I prayed it in English.

Afterwards, I proceeded down the colonnade toward the Church of the Holy Spirit in the hope of finding it open this time.  The colonnade was jam packed with pilgrims trying to stay out of the rain.

The Church of the Holy Spirit was open, and I was able to go in and pray.  There was a Mass that began soon after I found a place in the pews.

Afterwards, I found a cafe with outdoor seating for lunch, fortunately the rain had pretty much stopped by then, because the indoor seating was very limited and it was all in use.  As I was finishing my lunch, and the other tables outside were filling up, the rain began again, but not nearly so heavily, and only for a short while.

I wandered as I made my way back to my hotel, and came upon the fountain seen below.

Fontanna della Piazza dei Quiriti

Fontanna della Piazza dei Quiriti

 

 

Near the Piazza was a church that I had to look up on google maps to find out its' name.   That's how I found the name of the fountain and plaza above too.

Casa Santa Luisa -- upper view

Casa Santa Luisa -- lower view

In the last picture you can see a homeless guy inside the fence around the church's entrance.  The shield to the right of the main entrance, between the doors, is the coat of arms for pope Francis.