A Presbyterian Attends Mass with the Pope

It is my deep conviction that honoring God means approaching the faith traditions of others with a posture of curiosity, learning, and respect. This does not mean that I think all faith traditions are fundamentally the same or that theological distinctives are unimportant. In fact, I think the opposite is true: by exploring the faith traditions of others, we can better understand our own spirituality and the faith tradition in which we were raised or to which we belong. Yet, exploring other traditions can give us a broader mindset of appreciation for the faith of others, even if we disagree with them about particular theological matters.

In Rome May 2022

My spouse and I traveled in Italy this summer and one of our destinations was Rome. We happened to be in Rome on a Sunday and so attending a mass at the Vatican seemed like a great addition to our travel itinerary. We are not Roman Catholics, and so were not aware that the Sunday of our trip was a very special one at the Vatican, a service of canonization of 10 new saints was to take place. We arrived at the Vatican very early in order to make a service on-time, and immediately noticed just how many other people were making their way into Vatican City hours before a scheduled worship service/mass. 

At the Vatican

The streets were flooded with nuns, monks, and others wearing special vestments indicating ecclesiastical roles unfamiliar to me. We followed the crowds, marveling at the incredibly international atmosphere with so many different languages and styles of dress around us as we made our way toward St. Peter's Square.

As we approached the outdoor courtyard of the Cathedral, where mass is typically celebrated, we waited in line to go through security and metal detectors with the rest of the crowds. We also noticed, to our dismay, that everyone around us had some sort of an entrance ticket for this special service of canonization of saints. We had no tickets, but decided to persist in order to see if we might attend in some way even without them. 

It was incredibly hot, and there was very little shade. But this did not curb the enthusiasm of anyone around us, nor did the crowds. We made our way through security and into the outdoor courtyard and spoke to one of the security personnel. We were instructed to wait for a period of time to see space might become available. After some time in the hot sun passed, the security guard waived us in! Astonished and grateful, we made our way to seats since tickets did not assign specific seating (we sat near the central obelisk, if you have ever been to the Vatican).

Worshippers continued to press into the open courtyard, the areas behind it, the outdoor balconies above, and the crowds multiplied to tens of thousands. We had no idea that an event so special was about to take place and simply had to wonder that providence afforded us this very special opportunity.

Two Observations on the Mass by a Presbyterian

As the service began, some things especially captured my attention and drew my admiration for a Christian tradition with many things in common with my own, and yet also so very different.

First Observation

One of the first things I noticed is that the list of saints to be canonized was international and diverse, reflecting the crowd of worshippers, and representing the broad international span of the Catholic Church. It was wonderful to see women among those honored, and saints from India, Latin America, and Europe. 

Seated nearby us were worshippers from France, India, Venezuela, and Mozambique, and representatives of the communities of each saint canonized were present at the mass. The biographies and life histories of each of the saints were read at the beginning of the service, and translated into different languages. Each time the name of a saint was read aloud, representatives from that saint’s community in the crowd would cheer and shout and wave flags. It was like attending a sporting event but at church! This struck me as a marvelous way for a worship service to feel highly participatory and to generate enthusiasm and respect for local traditions and celebrated leaders from all over the world. 

Second Observation

A second thing I noticed was that the mass was primarily in Italian and Latin, and that this was not a problem for anyone. Some parts of the service were translated into more than one language, but mostly it was not. In Protestant circles, this would be considered a problem to solve, lest anyone feel left out or not be able to follow the service. Yet, those around me knew the liturgy already and responded to the songs and prayers either in Latin or in their own local language. Liturgy was the uniting factor, and, because everyone knows the liturgy already, everyone can participate regardless of the primary language used by the worship leader.

This included the Pope’s sermon, which was in Italian. While transcripts of the Pope’s sermons are made available on the Vatican website in various languages, I didn’t see anyone pulling out a phone or device to follow along. Since I speak French and my husband speaks Spanish, we were able to follow the major ideas of the sermon about the love of God.

My own Presbyterian tradition places so much emphasis on the sermon, and on words, in general, in services of worship. However, this service was so different from those in my own tradition because more emphasis was placed on the repetition of the liturgy, the serving and receiving of the eucharist, and on receiving the spoken blessing of the Pope. I was fascinated by the unity brought by shared ritual or liturgy, and how this is an international language that does not depend on words of translations. 

Reflections Gathered

Ritual transcends language because it is embodied. Ritual actions connect the world of faith in thoughts with the physicality of gathering, speaking and singing aloud, the bread and the cup, and words of blessing that go beyond the substance of the words themselves. Ritual is a contemporary embodiment of ancient faith tradition that connects us to worshippers and believers from hundreds and even thousands of years before us. 

Truly, this opportunity to attend mass led by the Pope at the Vatican was a providential moment and a tremendous learning experience for me. What experiences of other faith traditions have been meaningful moments for you? How did they shape your ideas of faith and spirituality?