GL 350 Blog #6

Global Learning Blog #6

Prompt: In what ways is the Catholic Church both Roman and Global?

            The Roman Catholic Church is universal in a way that one can travel all the way across the world and attend a mass that has the exact structure as ones home town church, or better yet any Catholic Church found in the world. There are many religions that are not like this, making it hard to practice your religion if you are traveling. Here in Italy I have been able to experience the same Catholic masses that I attend at home, and this has helped me include my religion and God in this trip as well. Church is one of the few similarities I see here compared to my home town, so every time I am missing home I might as well attend a mass. To have a religion that is as global as the Catholic Church has been very heartfelt on this trip.

            Our first day here in Rome we had the choice to walk up to our towns church and attended a Catholic mass, and of course it was in Italian considering we had found ourselves in Italy hours before! The mass was probably one of my most memorable moments on this trip even though it was a very simple one. I could not understand one word of what the priest was saying, but I knew when to stand, when to kneel, when the parish would respond to the priest, and every little piece of how the mass would unroll. I enjoyed it because it was different, and it was just as good as any mass I have ever attended. I honestly feel as though only the Catholic religion can really make someone feel this way from half way across the world. Other than the physical similarities during mass, there is also the same sense of emotional attachment when you walk into Catholic churches. Even the students in our group that are not Catholic can admit there is a feeling of spiritual attachment when you enter these churches. During class a couple weeks ago Keegan Hall quoted, “It is hard to walk into these churches and not feel something overwhelming.” There is just something about the Catholic churches that speaks to anyone who enters.

            There are minor differences here, what we might call “Roman” when it comes to the Catholic masses. A couple weeks ago one of our readings in Barzini talked about how the Roman life is much like a show. He quotes, “It is, first of all, almost always entertaining, moving, unreservedly picturesque, self-explanatory, animated, and engaging, as all good shows are.” Some masses that I have attended here do seem as though they are more worried about the ‘performance’ in the mass. They want to make sure everyone is engaged. In one mass there was an alter server that had the job of moving around the microphone for the readers, and another that would move different objects throughout the mass. The massive churches in general put on a show. Visiting Saint Peters this week proved that to the largest extent. It is beautiful, one of the most beautiful sights I will ever see. It was made to worship Saint Peter, but it also puts on a religious show as people walk with amazement through it. Rome: always looking to please. Another difference here is the interaction with the Pope. In the Papel Audience this week everything seemed as though it was a show. People were chanting for Pope Francis, waving flags, and chasing after him as he circled the audience in his pope car. At home we do not have this uproar approach to our religion.  Being a small town girl from Ohio, I have never known too much about the Pope or affiliated him with my faith. Here people cannot wait to go to mass on Easter just to see him, or go to one of his weekly blessings. This is a part of the Catholic faith here that I do not get at home, and it is a very faithful experience for Romans.

            We visited S. Maria Gorettis’s church last week, a moment of this trip that was very heartfelt for everyone. She was very strong in her Catholic faith and had strong values on her inner life. She was killed at the age of fourteen by a man who pushed to take advantage of her. Later in this man’s life, after jail and suffering from the thought of what he had done, her angel appeared to him and forgave him. The forgiveness was granted to the killer with the promise to have him next to her in Heaven. This is the kind of story that reminds me of what the Catholic Church can do to those globally. Walking into the church was something special, and we all knew it. The Catholic Church is both Roman and global, and it has been very beneficial to my faith to see that in my experience here in Rome.