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“I thought this was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in Rome thus far. Seeing the pope and hearing him speak was very exciting and truly made me proud to be a Catholic. I thought it was interesting how they had speakers from all different languages and especially liked when they announced Providence College!” Lauren Politi
“This morning was truly a morning I will never forget…” Caroline Lockyer
“The papal audience was one of my greatest experiences of studying abroad so far. To have all of these people here to pray together is just truly amazing. Papa Francesco rocks!” Matt Matuozzi
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Last week the P.C. in Rome program went to the weekly Wednesday papal audience with Pope Francis. I contacted Bishop Tobin’s office in Providence at the beginning of the semester for help in obtaining tickets for the students and myself.
The crowd numbered over 50,000 according to the Vatican news later that day. We were thrilled to hear “Providence College” formally welcomed during the introduction when various pilgrim groups and visiting dignitaries were introduced at the beginning of the Audience. (Thanks Bishop Tobin!) Go Friars!
We gave the Pope a Providence College baseball cap as he passed by us on the “Pope mobile”. It’s a thrill to know that it will now be part of the papal archive of gifts.
Pope Francis has recently been using his
talks at the weekly audience to offer some catechesis on the Church. The
talk he gave to us was about ecumenism and relationships with other Christians. He urged that Catholics realize that all Christians are on a journey together, towards full unity, in spite of our historic and theological differences. He asked us to pray for Christian unity, while adhering to the truth, on the way to reconciliation and communion.
I asked the students to share their photos and their impressions of the experience.
“I loved the papal audience. Although I’m not very religious, I liked how pope Francis spoke about dialogue between people regardless of their backgrounds, religions, and differences. He is definitely an amazing and inspiring man for both religious and non-religious followers.” Danielle Cady
“The Pope Mobile being a Mercedes made it even cooler.” Kevin Gleason
“Being a part of an experience of people gathered from all over the world and sitting to watch and listen to the Pope was something I won’t forget.” Emily DiRenzo
“First of all, the ceremony was beautiful, and it was amazing to see how excited everyone got when the pope came out. His kindness is visible in his mannerisms and the comfort that he brought among that gigantic crowd… I really enjoyed the announcements and the fact that they said Providence College, hopefully the blessing spreads back to campus!” Jenna Winn
“I found the Papal Audience to be a great experience, and I am really glad that I participated in it. I am shocked at how close Pope Francis actually came to us.” Katherine Morley
“The Papal audience was so much more than I had expected! My absolute favorite part was when he was kissing and blessing the babies it was very touching.” Camille Dottore
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“As the Pope drove past us in his “Pope mobile” I was extremely excited but also shocked because I didn’t realize that he would be that close to us. I was very impressed at the number of people at the audience. Overall, it was amazing to be at the Papal Audience and to see first hand how many people truly praise Pope Francis. This is a day I will never forget.” Devin Flood
“Seeing the pope today was something I’ll never forget, his charisma and compassion were evident just by him driving by in his pope mobile and his interaction with the crowd. From the kids to the old Italian ladies sitting behind us, there was a lot of love for Pope Francis in St. Peters Square.” Greg Nicolai
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“I am so glad that I had the opportunity to witness the papal audience this morning, it was truly an experience I will never forget. Not only was there a great deal of excitement built up to seeing Pope Francis, but being able to witness the ceremony afterwards was great as well.” Hannah Struever
“The Papal Audience was amazing! It was so powerful and spiritual but felt like a concert at the same time, everyone saw Papa Francesco as a celebrity!” Caroline Carew
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Go Friars!
