Chair of St. Peter

 Happy Feast Day!  Today is the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.  I, however, didn't know this until I got to Mass today at the Newman Center and Father spoke about it in the opening prayer.  As soon as he said it, Jeremy and I looked at each other and had to contain our giggles.  (1st picture: Statue of St. Peter in St. John Lateran Basilica, what used to be the official church of the Pope, now it is St. Peter's Basilica)

When we were in Italy in 2009, we were there when the Pope began his trip to Africa.  However, on the morning before he left, he said Mass at St. Paul's Outside the Walls Basilica.  When we toured the basilica, that same day, it was still set up from his Mass.  This second picture is the picture of the Pope's chair that he used for Mass that day.  The very literal version of the "chair of St. Peter" and the very chair that Pope Bendict XVI sat in earlier that day.

So being a male and feeling the need to get yelled at by security guards in Italian, Jeremy and Sean decided it would be a good idea if Jeremy sat in it and took a picture.  So they sneakily waited for the guards to turn around and Jeremy quickly sat in it for a picture and of course gestured as the Pope might gesture (and maybe it would look more real without his cheesy smile :-).  Third picture: Jeremy in the Pope's chair.

What this picture doesn't show is that Italian security guard running towards them shouting things in Italian and Jeremy and Sean quickly apologizing and running away.  Meanwhile, the rest of us stood back and laughed, okay, maybe I was standing back incredibly nervous and worried that my husband was going to be kicked out of a basilica in Rome by the Italian guards and thrown in an Italian jail...  Maybe I just don't like breaking rules whether they're stated or understood...

However, it's pretty cool that I have a picture of my hubby sitting in the Pope's chair!  Despite him breaking the rules to do so...

And while it made us giggle during Mass, it seriously is a very cool Feast day.  A feast day dedicated to the authority of the Pope and the "chair" or office that he holds.  We were reminded during Fr.'s homily of the huge role that the Chair of St. Peter should and does hold in our faith, in our families, and most importantly in the Catholic Church.  Without a position 100% guided by the Holy Spirit in our Church, the Truth of Scripture and Tradition could not be carried on today.  It is a reminder that we need to pray daily for our Pope and pray for the unity of all Christians, united in Truth.

Final picture: The two of us in St. Peter's Square, in front of St. Peter's Basilica.  It was super early in the morning, so it was a perfect picture opportunity.  If not for the lady and the backpack, it would look like we photoshopped ourselves in!