This is the big day when we go to St Peter's for Mass and then have the visit there. It was ht again but still cool when we set out at 7.30 to walk to St Peter's. The morning traffic was as bad as ever, it dont Think it ever sleeps! The day began excitingly for one pilgrim whose toilet overflowed generously or, as she said, Grossly! She had rung the desk and someone had come to her rescue, including a plumber, then she rang me to do the same. I trotted down a floor and although it was not 'horrible' it was all pretty wet. The staff person promised that it would all be sorted. 'Subito' which officially means at once and really means possibly sometime today! This was demonstrated when nothing had been done by the time we returned for pranzo and she threw a very wobbly wobbly lapsing into broken Spanish since she was, she later said, too upset to remember any Italian! It did not really clarify much! Anyway I poured oil around, recommended 'calma!' And spoke to the staff and as I went back to the lift, it opened and two cleaners came out ready to do their stuff and the lumber to double check and, maybe not to miss any fun!
St Peter's was itself, massive and busy. Tourists are not allowed before 10.00 am and Masses were going on all over the place, but it is so huge that they are only background sounds. I heard Andre say today that the floor of St Peter's is 6 acres, which is as big as six Hollingtons! Andfe's input was a good as always though I noticed he now knows it mostly by heart and hardly used his text. It is a very tiring day and there are no seats there to stop and have a break and I think everyone found it hard. Murray said Mass at the tomb of John XXIII and preached about being the body of Christ, as well as about John himself . The visit followed, looking at key items, art works, tombs and ironies like John XXIII's monument being in the same chapel as Pius X who condemned John for modernism! Or all the names of the bishops who signed the decree of the Immaculate Conception being written on the wall of church under the statue of St Thomas Aquinas who denied the Immaculate Conception as it did not fit with the ideas they then held about the development of the Foetus! And so on . . .
Murray went back to Tra Noi after Mass, I stayed with Andre, partly, for support and partly so that there was a second person incase anything happened. Also at the end we have to collect the small receivers we rent from the Vatican with head phones so everyone can hear without having to shout, this is what makes the visit possible. Then e eryone scattered, the pilgrims were out on their own for pranzo adn Andre and I went to a nearby bar and thankfully sat down and had an orange juice, when we felt up to it we took a taxi back to Tra Noi, he was desperate by then to take his habit off and I was desperate to take my walking shoes off which were killing me. i have decided never to wear them again no matter what!
We all regrouped at 6.00 and they had two lectures, another double act from Murray abd myself, on the sources we have for Francis and Clare. This was also in preparation for going to Tagliacozzo where Thomas of Celano, Francis' biographer, is buried. Then cena and so to bed.
More anon, watch this space. Love to all, ft
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