Every now & then certain once in a lifetime events come up & you are blessed to be a witness to them...and when you do it's simply exciting & an amazing experience you will never forget! For me, this weekend was one of those experiences.
Those of you in Houston might be sick of hearing about this since apparently it's been all over the news for the past week, but this is the events from my point of view...which I KNOW you haven't heard/read!
This weekend the Archbishop from the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese (all the parishes in the Houston & surrounding areas...actually a VERY large surrounding area!) became a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church & I was lucky enough to witness it and actually got to congratulate him in person soon after the ceremony (called the Consistory Ceremony)! For those of you who aren't Catholic, the Cardinals are the ones who elect the Pope...so basically the level below the Pope. Cardinal DiNardo is the 1st bishop from the Southern US that has become a Cardinal...so for us Catholics from the Houston & surrounding areas that's a big thing!
Let me go back a couple weeks to let you know how this all played out. On 17 October 2007, Pope Benedict announced the 23 bishops that would be elevated to Cardinal... including Archbishop Daniel DiNardo from Galveston-Houston Archdiocese. That same day I got an e-mail from my mom with the news saying the ceremony would be in November & she said 'Who knows, maybe you will get to attend!' I've requested tickets for a mass at St. Peter's before, so figured it was worth a shot to see if I could reserve tickets for the Consistory. With events at the Vatican where the Pope is celebrate, tickets are usually required if you want a seat...they are free, but you have to request in advance. So I sent an e-mail & the next day I got a reply saying they would reserve a ticket for me. Yay!
So then a couple days later I got an e-mail from one of my friends from a church group I was in back in Houston asking if she came to Rome of the Consistory, if she could stay with me. Of course I said yes...and I was able to get a ticket reserved for her with no problems & fortunately she (Hilary) was able to arrange to stay here in Rome with me for over a week.
So now I'm going to fast forward to Sat. morning. Hilary & I had been looking forward to this day & decided that it was going to be worth getting up VERY early to make sure we had a good spot in line & thus a decent seat. The Consistory was to start at 10:30 with the doors opening at 8:30, but the nun at the US Bishop's office told me when I picked up the tickets that if we really wanted to be near the front of the line we probably would need to get there really early...like around 6am. So that was our plan...and thankfully I live about 10 minutes from St. Peter's, so we left my apartment around 6am and were there soon after. We even had a backpack of stuff to keep us busy & food...we were prepared!
St. Peter's is SO AWESOME that early in the morning...before sunrise. I have pics and you can see for yourself. Anyway so I hurried to the line as Hilary met with her Aunt & Uncle who also came to Rome for the Consistory. I got to the line & just wanted to jump up & down...only 2 couples in front of us (one from Monterrey & the other from Houston)! Woohoo...number 5 & 6 in line! Accomplishment #1 for the day! (Wait #2...accomplishment #1 for me was that I actually got up before 6am!)
There was a little confusion later about the lines because they did the lines a little different from usual and made everyone move out of the square (piazza) & had 4 entries vs. the one like normal. When they moved us it seemed that they were going to make the 20 or so of us standing inside the piazza go to the end of the line that had already formed outside the piazza, but they didn't...we just had to squeeze in the front. I was stuck between a column, a gate & the other people in line for several hours...legs & feet in weird positions...but it was worth it. Oh & that backpack of stuff...didn't even use it...actually didn't even have enough room to pull anything in it out! But the couple right in front of us ended up being from Annunciation Church in Houston, so I talked to them as we waited. They also sat behind us in the basilica.
Another bit of confusion was where the Consistory was actually going to be held - the announcements and tickets said it was to be in the Piazza, but due to the threat of rain they decided to move it inside the Basilica. The major problem with that is that they issued tickets based on the number of chairs they put in the Piazza, but the Basilica holds a lot less. So that meant even though you had a ticket, that didn't assure you a seat.
When the gates open for an event like this at St. Peter's, it's almost like when you see people going for the big sales the day after Thanksgiving...people just running to be the 1st in line & trying to get the best seats! And yes I was one of them....but so were nuns, priests, and tons of other people! I didn't shove anyone or anything like that! But before they opened I had thought through my strategy - from past experiences I knew that the best spots are the aisle seats - it's better to get an aisle seat vs. a seat up front. So that was my target. And Hilary & I actually got separated when the line moved because she had gone back to my apartment to get the Texas flags she brought that we left back at my apartment. I told her that I would go get both of us a seat and save one for her. So my strategy worked & I did get us an aisle seat! We still had about 2 hours until the Consistory was to start, but it seemed to go by fairly quickly.
This is the 3rd event I've been to inside St. Peter's that the Pope celebrated - one was with my sister almost a year ago when he did the evening prayer service the 1st Sunday of Advent, one was in June with my friend & her mom during the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul, and then for this occasion. One thing I LOVE at these types of ceremonies is to just look around the Basilica and look at all the different types of people there from all over the world gathered in this one place. Also during the Consistory & Mass most parts were in Latin or Italian, but they also did some in various languages. The Pope himself speaks multiple languages in which in addresses the pilgrims every Sunday. It is just amazing & makes me realize how global the Catholic church is and that I have brothers & sisters in Christ in every place of the world!
The countries represented by the new Cardinals alone were: US, Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, Senegal, India, Mexico, Brazil, Kenya, Argentina, & Iraq. The Cardinal from Iraq always received a big applause...he is likely to become a martyr because of all the violence in Iraq against Christians and now that he is a Cardinal he is even more of a target...but he has willing accepted being a Cardinal.
I was able to get some pretty good pics of Cardinal DiNardo & Pope Benedict at the Consistory as they went past us. During the Consistory any time DiNardo's name was announced there were cheers throughout the Basilica - the Galveston-Houston Diocese was very well represented! I've read that there were at least over 600 people from the diocese that came for the event...but then someone else said they were told it was more like 3000 -- not sure what the actual count was, but it was A LOT! One thing Hilary & I noticed is that if someone from Texas brought a flag, 9 out of 10 times it was a Texas flag & not a US flag. This was confusing many people & we were asked several times if we were from Chile (since their country flag looks similar...blue is just half the length of the flag vs. full length).
The Consistory lasted about 2 hours, but it flew by! When it was over the couple from Houston we met in line asked if we were going to the reception for Cardinal DiNardo. Since we weren't part of any tour group we had no idea there was even a reception. They found a priest from Houston that had all the details & he actually lead us to the North American College (residence for American seminarians) where the reception was taking place. We walked in & the seminarians did a fantastic job greeting everyone, providing music & answering questions. There was finger food set out, drinks, and some jazz music. They had signs posted - receiving line for Cardinal DiNardo on one side & for Cardinal Foley (another American) on the other side. So Hilary & I made it toward the DiNardo side - maybe 50 people from the front. They said he was meeting with the media, so they weren't sure how long it would take. We didn't care - we were going to wait until we could see him & congratulate him! As we were in line I saw Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, the retired Archbishop of the Galveston-Houston Diocese (he is the one who confirmed me). I also saw a coworker from PwC Houston...in addition to just seeing a lot of faces I'm sure I've seen before...some of them I finally realized which church I've seen them at before! The Houston news crews were going by too. I got in a couple seconds of a Channel 2 video when they were talking to a priest (http://www.click2houston.com/video/14683403/index.html at about 1:53). We were interviewed by the Houston Chronicle too, but the apparently didn't use any of it. They did put a horrible picture of us on their website - but it's only chin down (the one in my pictures is MUCH better!)
Before Cardinal DiNardo arrived, we looked back at the line and it was all the way down the hall as far as the eye could see with more & more people arriving. When he arrived he took time to greet each person & take a picture with them. If you have not met him before, he is such great guy...very kind. But as Hilary & I are walking up to go see him, I was thinking to myself - what do you tell someone who has just knelt before the Pope & became a Cardinal?!?! 'Congratulations' I believe is all that came out...and 'An exciting day, isn't it??!' Because of the number of people in line, you couldn't talk to him for too long! But hey we saw him & took a picture with him THE DAY he became a Cardinal!
Another surprise was as we were leaving we passed this bishop that looked familiar...and I quickly realized it was Bishop Pat Zurek, who grew up and still has family in Wallis (my hometown). My parents knew him ever since he was little! So I was able to tell him HI and take a picture with him too!
The day was so exciting, but I was also exhausted...ended up taking a 5 hour 'nap'!
On Sunday was the mass celebrated by Pope Benedict in which the Cardinals received their rings. Hilary & I decided that if we were able to get really good seats on Saturday, we would get there a little later on Sunday - so we go to St. Peter's around 8ish (gates open at 8:30 & Mass at 10:30). When we got there, there were of course tons of people in line already. As we looked at the crowd we figured there was no way we would get inside St. Peters -- not with all those people! Once the gates opened we watched as hundreds of people rushed to get into the Basilica...many probably ones that weren't able to make it in for Sat. We got through security, but when we got closer to the Basilica they stopped the lines for a bit to see if the Basilica was full yet I suppose (they don't count the number of people as they go in). Then they let us go, but when we got to the front doors they told us to go the the right & we ended up going halfway around the Basilica on the outside. Then we went up this small stairwell & we arrived in the Basilica behind the high altar. But again they didn't count, so when we got there Hilary found a seat but I didn't. I thought there was a section right next to where we were that had seats, but as we went around they kept telling us to keep going until we got to the front of the Basilica. I finally asked a Swiss Guard if we needed to go outside & he told us that we could stay inside, but there were no more seats so we would have to stand. I was wearing heels again (wore them on Sat. too & my feet were killing me!), so I wasn't looking forward to standing for 4 hours straight, but was willing to do it if I had too. We were standing behind the last row of seats with a couple of Irish couples between us and the seats. After about an half hour of standing there, one of the Irish ladies taped me on the shoulder and said someone was looking for me. I was a bit confused because the only person I was with was Hilary, who was right next to me. So the Irish crowd parted so I could see who it was & it was a husband & wife that looked at me & asked 'Are you Lynette Uhyrek'?!? I guess for this to make sense I have to mention that my mom had emailed me to tell me that the couple that has the hardware store in East Bernard (small town next to my hometown) were going to Rome for all the events. My parents gave them my contact information & I actually told my mom maybe it would be good for them to at least show the couple a picture of me since I don't know what they look like & they probably wouldn't recognize me. I received an email from them, but they said they had a lot of things going on & weren't sure if we would be able to meet. So I look at this couple & ask 'Are you the Vacek's from East Bernard?" They said 'Yes we are!' I was just thinking how in the world did we actually run into each other amongst these hundreds (well thousands) of people?!? Then they ask if I would like to sit with them because they had an extra seat. I asked if they had a seat for my friend as well...and they did! So we actually got to sit with them! Mr. Vacek told me that he was actually praying the rosary & was scanning the crowd & just caught a glimpse of me. He said he couldn't see my whole face, but he thought I looked like the picture and apparently I look a lot like my mom too! Then he asked his wife and they were trying to decide & when they saw they Texas flag in my purse they figured it must be me! They also said they were saving a couple chairs for people in there group & felt a little bad saving the chairs with all the people standing, but in the end all of them were used! I just could not believe how it all happened - it was meant to be & I must have had angels guiding me...because if I didn't end up right in that spot, I probably would have never got to see them!
On Sunday I really didn't take that many pictures, but I did get a few of Cardinal DiNardo. The mass was about 2 hours long, but was very nice.
There were other events that took place on Monday & today, but I didn't get to go to any of those since I was working.
Overall it was an unbelievable experience. All the people I was able to see, experiencing the ceremony for the 1st Cardinal in the South and then being able to congratulate him THAT day only hours later, being so close to the Pope, being surrounded by other Catholics from all over the World....no other way to describe it except UNBELIEVABLE. And it also left me feeling very blessed...that I am...blessed in many ways!
Here's a link to my pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71162&l=f2f82&id=800405227
(I've having problems getting the pictures from Sunday to post, but hopefully in a day or so they will be there!)
