Sunday, March 24, 2013 -- The New Pope, Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square with Olive Branches

We walked through Trastevere along a narrow lane that was almost a straight shot to Vatican City, where we joined the throng gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ 9:30 Palm Sunday Mass. The procession began about 9:15, and thousands waved palms and olive branches as the Pope arrived at a temporary altar set up in the center of the square in front of the Obelisk for the preliminary ceremony.  Though he was quite near us, between the shifting crush of people and the waving of olive branches, it was hard to catch more than a glimpse of him, either on the big screens or in person.  However, once the procession made its way to the altar on the steps of the Basilica, the area surrounding the Obelisk was opened up and we had a wonderful view. The two-hour Mass included prayers and readings in several languages, with the Gospel and the Pope’s homily in Italian, so we could catch some of it even before coming home and reading about it online! After Mass, the Pope toured the Square in his Francis-style open-air Popemobile and the crowd (250,000 we’ve read!) cheered, waved, and clapped.  Francis stopped to kiss babies and even got out to get up close and personal.  Watching him reach out to people and seem so at ease with their hugs, pats on the back, and kisses was unlike anything we could have imagined of any Pope just a couple of weeks ago. 

After weathering the bottleneck created when the enormous square full of people tried to funnel out through a few narrow exits in the barricades, we tried to escape the crowds by walking along some narrow side streets, crossing the Tiber, and wandering around in the Centro Storico. After lunch in the Piazza Farnese, we walked the short distance to the old Jewish Ghetto and found it to be a lively Sunday afternoon scene, with lots of people on the streets of the small quarter and sidewalk Kosher  restaurants crowded with happy diners.  We used audioguides downloaded to our MP3 players to tour the adjacent ruins of the Roman Porta Octavia and Teatro Marcello, both situated amid the hubbub of modern Rome.

We crossed the Isola Tiberina back to Trastevere again and took an audioguide tour through this old neighborhood.  We finished up with another visit to Santa Maria in Trastevere to once again marvel at its glorious mosaics, both over head and under foot.

We picked up something for dinner and headed home to prepare for tomorrow morning’s departure for Naples.

Some random Rome impressions:
Color –The city is covered in such a warm palette: lemon yellow, ochre, butterscotch, golden, coral, orange, cream and tans.
Water, water, everywhere – Along with the massive sculptural fountains and pools that anchor so many piazzas, there are constantly flowing small fountains throughout the city.  Many have a hole atop the spigot so that when the downspout is plugged with a thumb, the water is diverted and an ad hoc drinking fountain created!  For desert dwellers such as we are, this never fails to amaze!
The ancient and the contemporary, side by side, everywhere.
Churches – Even more churches than water!

Rome -- always hard to leave, but so easy to return to!