Catholic Olympics, part 1
Tickets in hand, we headed to our first Holy Week event, the Chrism Mass on the morning of Holy Thursday.
It was the most empty we had seen, or would ever see St. Peter's square. Don't worry, the line was already substantial, just off to the right of frame.
At this mass, any priest present is invited to concelebrate, so getting all the priests in the door took a rather long time, about 45 minutes.
The deacons
And bishops
This one bishop was wearing a crown. Couldn't pass up a picture of that!
We were seated near a statue of St. Vincent DePaul. Go Blue Demons!
We were seated very close to the barriers around the main aisle, so we were primed to get some good shots of Pope Benedict.
Unfortunately, the first couple pictures didn't turn out so well.
Don't worry, there are some good shots later.
The basilica is moumentally huge.
During the mass, the oils were processed to be blessed by the Pope.
The recession took just as long as the entry.
And the crowned bishop again..
We were lucky to be sitting with an American studying Canon Law who explained a lot of the pomp to us. She took this wonderful picture for us.
