Rome on arrival


We woke at 4AM after a special weekend of Easter celebration to set out to Manchester airport in the dark. Met with a few of the group for a coffee before finding the gate. A Jet2 All Day Breakfast was well received although Chris did opt for a Chicken Dinner on the grounds that it already seemed like lunchtime 😂


Landing was a cloudless dream and then switching on our phones to the sad surprise of the death of our beloved Pope Francis. Everyone was saddened and the tone of our little assembly was framed by different hopes and prayers for our week. Suddenly the questions were bigger than the future of our parish, broadening more sharply into the future of the church and the world.

Rome on arrival was bathed in beautiful Easter sunshine. A sense of being here at a significant moment in history, yet there’s a peace and a calm - a moment of resurrection to celebrate a life lived to the full in service of God and the church.

Anthony, our guide, met us in the airport and once we rallied our group we joined our coach for transfer to the Lancelot Hotel just across from the Colosseum. Surreal to be driving through the streets of Rome with so many landmarks and the dome of the Vatican in the distance and all that is taking place there in this moment.

We tuned into the Parish to the service of Word and Communion and were pleased to be united with our church family at St Peter’s in this moment of sadness.

Simple lunch turned out to be quite substantial 😃 before a trip to the Catacombs of St Callistus this afternoon - the burial site of many of the early Christians in Rome. We prayed especially in thanksgiving for the life of Pope Francis when Fr Peter celebrated Mass for us at the catacombs.

We had a moment of silence before dinner and Fr Peter prayed in thanksgiving for the life of Pope Francis. After dinner, an optional stroll to the Colosseum - all framed by the loss of our lovely Pope Francis. May he rest in Peace 🙏

Deacon John










Comments

  1. Clair22 April 2025 at 11:11

    Hello all , greetings from Hazel Grove ! You are all looking relaxed and having fun ! It's lovely to hear all you are doing already ! Thank you for remembering us as we do you in prayers ! Our dear Pope would not want you to be sad , be our joyful jubilee representatives in Rome at this historic time 🤗🤗❤️🙏🏻

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