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Hearing the familiar ding, and expecting only the usual telephone welcome from a local company, you can imagine my excitement on receiving news that we have the tickets for Midnight Mass at St Peter’s tomorrow, with Pope Francis officiating. I’d given up on getting tickets long ago. But, American Express Lifestyle has delivered!
There’s but two precious minutes left in the dying battery of my iPhone, and I have to respond before the people with the tickets go home!
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In this envelope, we also receive Invitations from the Secretary of State of the Vatican to attend in the Diplomatic enclave (located in an area on the balustrade up there with the Saints looking across at the central window of St Peter’s), where Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi Christmas Message to the World at noon on Christmas Day.
The Secretary to the Ambassador to the Holy See from another South American country is the next to call. The Secretary asks Edmundo why we hadn’t come to the Bronze Door of St Peter’s on Monday as previously advised to collect the tickets to the Midnight Mass.
Anyway, we have 15 tickets now. Edmundo says he’ll take a leaf out of Francesco’s book, and go out into the highways and by ways and invite homeless, vagrants and anyone else to accompany us. In reality, he gave the extra tickets to some nuns from India, who all but prostrated themselves before him in thanks. I ask one for a kiss, and giggling, with a huge smile, SIster obliges.
The best is yet to come . . . in subsequent posts, when I get the time, I’ll post more stories and photos.
The sun in shining in Rome, and I’m going out in it.
Happy Christmas.