A Friday Night in Rome

Hello, friends.

I had the excellent opportunity on a recent Friday night to attend a Catholic mass...in Hebrew!

Now, I've been to an extremely high number of Catholic masses in my life, and in particular this year--whether it was for the opening of the academic year at my university back in the fall, or in a cave with our group of fellows when we were in Israel in January, or to support my (soon-to-be-ordained) seminarian friend when he recently gave a homily here in Rome. So when I met a nice priest (Fr. Steve) back at an audience with Pope Francis in April who invited me to come to mass in Hebrew once he found out I was Jewish, I was a bit reluctant. I very often enjoy seeing services of other faiths, but it was just feeling like a lot of Catholicism at that point, and I needed a bit of a break. However, after a few weeks, the priest shot me an e-mail letting me know that the final Hebrew mass of this school year was coming up, in case I wanted to come. I was free that Friday night, so I decided to don some appropriate-for-church clothing (despite the heat) and head out to meet him at the Pantheon to walk to mass together.

A photo I took at our university's audience with Papa F on April 10th

And I am so glad I went. Before the mass started, I was able to meet with a few of the people who would be attending. Everyone greeted me warmly, and seemed delighted to find out I was Jewish, which makes sense since in a lot of ways, this was a group of Catholics trying to honor their Jewish roots. The main celebrant was a priest from Belgium, and he and I had a nice short chat about where I came from and such.

The group attending was small, around ten people. We met in a small chapel at a residence for Jesuits, a little white room with minimal but very nice adornments, and sat in a semi-circle of chairs surrounding the altar. Almost everyone at the mass were priests, with one lay lady and myself. The mass is held on Friday nights to honor the start of the Jewish Sabbath, Shabbat, and opened with the lady lighting candles, similar to how a Jewish person would to open Shabbat. The mass is usually in all Hebrew and Italian, and they threw in some English since I was there (not realizing I speak Italian). Some of the prayers (over the Eucharist and the wine) opened in actually the same Hebrew wording as the hamotzi and kiddush (over the bread and the wine) in Judaism. It was pretty neat.

The main celebrant gave a short homily, in which he said some moving things. He explained that the mass was "special because Allyson is here, she's Jewish and wanted to come pray with us." Knowing where I come from, he also said, "Let us pray for the Jewish communities of New York City and the surroundings, the Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, and the more liberal." He explained how once Jerusalem and Alexandria were the centers of worldwide Jewry and Jewish learning, and how now it is Jerusalem and New York. Also, he discussed the then-impending trip of Pope Francis to Israel, and the importance of dialogue. To hear a Catholic priest, in a room of mostly young priests, talk about something so touching and so vital, to welcome me so honestly, at a Hebrew service in the center of Rome and thus worldwide Catholicism, was a critical example of how it only take one person (or a small group of people) to really positively impact interfaith relations. I am sure the memories from this mass will stay with me for a long time.

Perhaps not a typical Friday night activity, but definitely a worthwhile one.

After the mass, a Brazilian priest who lived in the building took us up to the roof to show us their incredible view of the city of Rome. I've got to tell you--I've now been to the top of a hill overlooking the city called Gianicolo (a few times), climbed the dome of St. Peters, and gone on the roofs of the British College (where the British priests live), the North American College (where the American priests live), and now the Jesuit residence, Casa Bellarmino, and all I can say is that these priests have the best views of Rome.

The view from Casa Bellarmino--that's St. Peter's in the distance

As I finish up my last twelve days (!) in Rome, I am starting to reflect on what this year has meant to me, and where I am going from here. I am sure this introspection will continue for a long time, but for now, I know that I've learned a lot, met some great people that I will miss, and that I'm excited for these interfaith opportunities to continue when I move back to New York in just a few weeks.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson