Pope's Mass at St. Peter's (The Vatican)

Benedict XVI arriving for Mass

The end of the day was very exciting.  It is the feast of the Presentation, which concludes the Christmas season for the church.  It is also a day dedicated to members of religious orders, including Jesuits.  The Holy Father presided at Mass at 5:30 PM.  In order to attend a Papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, tickets are required.  The priests in the sabbatical program were given tickets to attend the Mass.  There are over 10,000 people who get tickets to be inside the basilica.  We arrived at St. Peter's Square to find a very, very long line to go through the security scanners to get into the basilica.  We were certainly not at the end of the line, but seven of us were the last ones allowed into the basilica, so we were at the very rear of St. Peter's.  As it turned out, it was a prime location to get close to the Pope, since he entered at the side altar where the Pieta is located.  Lining the aisle is a barricade which we stood against, thinking we would get to see nothing from that distance.  Well, who appears as the curtains near the Pieta open, but Pope Benedict XVI.  I was no more than 5 feet away from him as he entered and left the basilica.  He initially walked to the nave of the basilica, then got onto a moving platform which carried him down the main aisle.  He returned on the moving platform and again was no more than 5 feet away from me.  I was surprised by how short he is, and he appears to be frail, but speaks with a very strong voice.  I was able to get photos of him as he entered, and then again as he was leaving.  He was directly in front of me as I was taking his picture, then out of no where one of his bodyguards was in the center of the frame.  You will see this unknown security guard in the very last photo.  You will get a perspective of how close we were to the Pope.  The Mass itself was beautiful.  It was more than 2 hours, but it went by in a flash.  We left the basilica and found the temperature had dropped by about 20 degrees.  Winter has returned to Rome!

Swiss Guards who lined the aisles of the basilica.

Pope Benedict XVI (almost close enough to touch)

Moving platform used by the Pope

Pope returning after Mass.

What would heave been a close up photo of the Pope (who is on the moving platform in the center of the picture) until this guard popped up out of nowhere!!!!