Buona Pasqua! Good Friday and Easter in Rome...

An "angel" gave me a ticket to sit on state at the Easter Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's....Grazie Mille!

It was a wonderful mass shared with about 100,000 of my brothers and sisters! (Pic 11)



The entrance procession. Pope Benedict is right in front of the statue of St. Peter. (Pic 1)


The Pope and an icon of Jesus and Jesus crucified. (Pic 2)



The Swiss guards in formation before mass. (Pic 3)








Red tulips, orange tiger lilies and yellow broom plants were among the flowers delivered from the Netherlands — and at the end of the service The Pope thanked the Dutch for the gift.







The first reading. (Pic 5)








The priests went out into the assembly to give Holy Communion. (Pic 6)







Pope Benedict giving Holy Communion. (Pic 7)

The Pope praying during mass. (Pic 8)

Black-robed clerics intoned a long chant from the Byzantine liturgy. (Pic 9)

I was thinking what a beautiful day....I never would have imagined I would be here 7 months ago when I started this journey....(Pic 10)

My view of St. Peter's square from the stage. (Pic 11) The people were lined up well past the square and the street.

A blessing at the end of mass. (Pic 12)

The Easter Mass booklet. (Pic 13)

After mass The Pope went up to the window to give his weekly Urbi et Orbi address. (Pic 13)

Good Friday I participated in Via Crucis with the Pope at the Colosseo. (Pic 14)

It was late evening and too dark for my camera but here is Pope Benedict with the Cross. (Pic 15)

I snapped this shot as the crowd was leaving after the Stations of the Cross. (Pic 16)

The Way of the Cross booklet. (Pic 17)

Traditionally everyone has an Easter Egg... a chocolate egg with a surprise in the middle. Here is mine. I also had a traditional Easter Cake called a Colomba....mine was a little more flavorful than the real traditional one...it had chocolate icing and chocolate cream inside. It is in the shape of a dove. (Pic 18)