21 April 1992
Dear
Father Forrester,
Thank
you very much for introducing us to Mrs. Bartoli! She took care of everything, from the pensione to the Vatican Gardens to the
Papal Audience on April 1.
Our
year abroad has been wonderful. In fact,
I find myself a bit melancholy at the thought of returning to the mass of
confusion back home. . ..
Over
the last few days, the papers have been full of talk about the BBC TV show airing the lack of belief in the
Resurrection by many Church of England.
One bishop says get out of the church if you don't believe. The major papers carry editorials on the
subject of Easter and the Resurrection.
The Archbishop of Canterbury tries his own countermeasures. There is usually something in the news about
the state church. Ironically, the US is
also recently in the news as having the highest proportion of people who
believe in God and attend church regularly.
It is hard to synthesize all the stories into coherence. Like the ever so polite British drivers who
are forever tailgating you and passing you at reckless speeds on lovely country
roads: it takes awhile to make sense.
But I keep on trying. I hope to
attend a lecture on Friday by Archbishop Weakland: "Catholic Uneasiness
and the Capitalist Enterprise." The
undeniably great thing about being here is our proximity to one of the world's
greatest cities, yet we live in the countryside. It's hard to imagine such a situation in
US. I have especially come to love the
churchyards and their graves. I grew up
accustomed to think of the graveyard as a scary place; next to the churches
here they seem friendly.
We
attended Sunday mass at the Milano cathedral, as we did in Salzburg on Palm
Sunday. Listening to mass in a foreign
language, one can appreciate the some of the ideas behind the stained glass,
sculptures and paintings: they give you something to think about even if you
don't understand (or, in the old days, couldn't hear) what's being said. It is nice to be able to use these churches
as they were intended. In the art museum
in Munich hangs a Madonna, taken from a Capuchin monastery, which is noted to
have a 100 day indulgence, by order of the Papal Nuncio, for those saying an
Ave before the picture. I wonder how
many similar pictures now hang in museums out of work!
Rome
remains as beautiful as I remember from 1967, when Jan and I visited you at
Santa Susanna, and were shown around Rome by Father (now Msgr.) O'Leary. All those water fountains and churches
everywhere! Such action in the streets!
. . .
Mrs.
Bartoli obtained for us a spacious room not far from St. Peter's on Via della
Fornaci, which we all shared in comfort.
We had a good visit with her and obeyed her instructions, especially
visiting the Vatican Gardens and St. Clemente.
. . . The Palantine was absolutely lovely, but I suppose the favorite
was St. Peter's itself and the Pieta. We
studied the Sistine Chapel ceiling, recently restored (the Last Judgement is
now covered and being restored) for 30 or 40 minutes. The place was jammed, but awesome nevertheless,
more so, when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror the next day or so,
and noted that I looked a little like the condemned man in the Last Judgement,
with his hand over half his face.
Signora
Bartoli took care of all details for the papal audience. She gave us instructions on what time to go,
where to sit, etc. It reminded me of my
father in the "good old days" giving us instructions for attending the
show on the Strip.
. . .
So
we are back again at home. The weather
is warming, and, having not been able to figure out a way to remain here (at
least as of the moment), we are starting to prepare for going home in
July. It has been an outstanding year,
one that is hard to believe has actually happened. Mom and Dad will be here for their second
visit in a little more than week; my restless father is off to Africa again and
will leave mom here while he travels. We
look forward to the company.
Thank
you once again for your advice and contacts.
We all wish you the best and on your feet soon.
With
gratitude and affection,
Sincerely,
Cathy and Michael et familia
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We All Learned about
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