Christmas in Vatican
Till now it had only been in Dan Brown novels or Hollywood movies that I had seen the St. Peter’s Basilica and the image of The Pope coming out of his famous balcony to address the crowd at St. Peter’s Square. And that’s why the moment I landed in Rome, a childhood fascination descended upon me. I had always wanted to visit Vatican and hear The Pope from his balcony. I was quite disappointed to know that the routinely public meetings that take place every week had been cancelled because of Christmas season.
I was scheduled to reach Rome at 10:30 on Christmas Eve and had made complete plans to attend the Midnight Mass at Vatican. But thanks to an absolutely nerve wrecking service from Al Italia, I reached Rome way past 12 ‘O’ clock. And thus I had to dump my plan to visit the Vatican that night. Next morning, I got up hearing the sounds of the bells from a nearby church. Well it was Christmas Day and Rome was flaunting all its colours. Before going to Rome, I had read on the Vatican Museum’s website that the Pope gives a Christmas message at noon from his balcony. It was at that moment itself that I had made my mind to reach Vatican and live my childhood dream.
As I stepped into St. Peter’s Square, I realised what a grand setting it was. More than a thousand people must have been present but it still seemed like it could accommodate many more. As I looked towards St. Peter’s Basilica, I saw the balcony I was waiting to see always. With red velvet curtains covering the window, the balcony looked distinct with a red chair and a red velvet carpet hung outside. The shots of scenes from Angels and Demons and 2012 which I had seen recently came to my mind immediately. It was exactly at 12 noon that The Pope came out and was welcomed by the enthusiastic crowd that had been waiting to hear his Christmas message. His message was of course in Italian but what mattered to me was living a childhood dream. Christmas in Vatican was one of the best I have ever witnessed in my life.