Papal Audience

Festival Location: Vatican City, Holy See

Festival Type: Religious Events

Papal Audience Media:

Papa in da House

By: © Matthew MacDermott 2009

Here's one for all the hip young kids out there.

Forget San Fermin in Pamplona, Oktoberfest in Munich, the Love Parade in Berlin or Glastonbury in England. The real action on Europe's greatest hits tour is at the headquarters of that that most cutting-edge of social and cultural institutions - the Roman Catholic Church.

That's right boys and girls. The Basilica di San Pietro (St Peter's Basilica) in Rome is where it's at.

The sheer size and lavish luxury of the world's largest and most expensive church is impressive at any time. But the real fun starts when the big fella, P-Daddy, Papa, the artist formerly known as Josef Ratzinger, the one and only Pope is in da house.

Pope Benedict XVI may not have the same instant charisma of his rock-star-meeting, sunglass-wearing predecessor, but he can still pull a crowd and knows how to work the adoring masses into a frenzy.

While I am now embarrassed to admit it, I hadn't originally planned my latest trip to Rome around seeing the Pope. Never again!

I had taken in the modesty of St Peter's before and, second time around with my wife in tow, was planning a similar, leisurely stroll through the hugely impressively basilica and equally impressive Piazza San Pietro - just us, and a few hundred of our newest, closest friends.

The crowds get pretty thick here at any time of year, but as we walked up the long straight approach of via della Conciliazione the hive of human activity in the piazza was absolutely humming.

"It's just a busy day," I said, trying to sound like an expert on all things St Peter's and also trying to drain the memory bank from my visit eight years earlier. I remembered it was busy, but not quite like this.

When we got to the piazza, it was completely full of rows of seats, which in turn were completely full of rows of people, and then some. In short, it was packed. The whole piazza was also fenced off and patrolled by polizia and/or carabinieri (I never know the difference, although they both look intimidating and not to be messed with)

The next penny to drop for us was that everyone getting past the uniforms patrolling the entrance had hot little tickets in their hands, which we did not.

So our dilemma was thus: wait outside and watch a huge group of people waiting for something to happen, even though we had no idea what that something was?; or go inside and join the huge group of people waiting for something to happen, even though we still had no idea what that something was?

In the end, the decision went along the lines of: "Why not, we're here. Let's give it a go". We may have indeed been here, but we didn't have tickets, a matter I decided to approach delicately when we reached the uniform on the gate. "Do you need tickets to get in here?" I said, mustering the bravado that seems to magical fill one's normally meek home-bound persona when overseas. The reply was a clichéd Italian shrug of the shoulders, which said nothing but was a green light in anyone else's language.

After the security pat down and baggage scanners, we were in and loving it. Except for the small detail that we still had absolutely no idea what was going on.

The crowd was a religious one, smattered with the robes and habits of priests, nuns and the like and also the colour and excitement of more fervent followers - modern-day pilgrims from all corners of the globe enthusiastically waving their national flags and religious messages of choice.

The buzz and anticipation started to rise and soon it became clear the masses were waiting for someone to arrive. Surely not the Pope? We couldn't have stumbled into a papal audience? It must be some important cardinal or visitor.

Then right on queue, the sea of people awash in the piazza began to part as a car made its way through the crowds. Not just any car, this was the Pope-mobile and we were going to see the Pope.

It was at this exact point, that my wife and I both felt a simultaneous feeling of utter excitement and embarrassment. Excited that we were about to see the Pope, and embarrassed that we were excited that we were about to see the Pope.

I have since tried to justify that feeling of completely unexpected excitement by acknowledging that the Pope is one of the most famous persons on the entire planet. His face is on TV, newspapers, and computer screens everyday throughout the world and we were about to see him in the flesh. It's that simple. He is famous, very famous and people get excited about seeing famous people.

The people packed into Piazza San Pietro got very excited indeed that day. People young and old ran and jostled their way to the best vantage points to see the Pope, the Italians amoung the crowd adoringly proclaiming their 'Papa'.

After working the crowd from his open-top chariot, the Pope was duly deposited right at the make-shift altar by his wheels (no walking up steps for famous people, especially 78-year old famous people).

Supported by his posse of cardinals, the Pope then addressed the faithful in a variety of languages, blessing them and their families. The groups of pilgrims that had travelled from far and wide were then acknowledged individually, which bought much cheering and flag waving from those mentioned.

It was not a stretch to imagine a spontaneous chant of 'USA, USA, USA', although the groupies from the Pope's homeland of Germany were not to be outdone in the nationalistic fervour stakes.

The cheering, flag waving and all round excitement went on and on. This was worship, but not as I know it. 'Papa' was in da house and St Peter's was party central for his devoted followers.

by Matthew MacDermott

Papal Audience Photos:

Papal Audience Dates and Location

An audience with Pope is held in Piazza San Pietro on Wednesdays at 11am (when he is in town). You are meant to book tickets through the Prefettura della Casa Pontifica. Tel: 06 698 84 631. The office can be accessed under the colonnade to the right of Basilica di San Pietro on entry. It is recommended to book at least the day before, that morning at a pinch, or not at all.