A day in the life of Rome (part II)

 

After the Grillo show at the San Giovanni square (much ado about nothing?) Rome and the world was getting geared up for Ratzinger’s last days as Rome’s Bishop.

Pope Benedict XVI, Ratzinger’s official pontifical title, would call it quits with his last “Angelus” (when the Pope on Sundays at 12 noon sharp talks for about 10 minutes from his papal apartment to the crowd down below on St. Peter’s square) and with his last outdoor papal audience, again on St. Peter’s square.  I would be there for both unique events.

The papal audience (they always take place on Wednesdays.  During the winter months the audience takes place in the Sala Nervi, aka the Paolo VI hall) occurred during a wonderful quasi-spring day in Rome.  

As I got there I managed to take a pic of a man who came across as being rather sad.  Sad because Ratzinger was leaving, or sad because he would have no idea of how the new Pope would handle his own personal situation, a situation which has been plaguing him and his widowed mother for 30 years now?  The mysterious man?  Pietro Orlandi.  For those who aren’t quite up on the (many) mysteries of Italy (it’s a country that after all gave the world people such as the Borgias, Machiavelli, etc.!), Pietro is the brother of Emanuela.  Emanuela 30 years ago while going to music school (or coming back from it) disappeared, like literally into thin air.  Her whereabouts since then have been basically a mystery.

Pietro and Emanuela’s father had worked in the Vatican and was possibly tied to the I.O.R. (Istituto per le opere di religione), the Vatican’s bank (which has in the past had more than one “obscure” financial affair with crooked bankers, the Mafia, etc.).  One conspiracy theory says that Emanuela may have disappeared because her father new something which he wasn’t supposed to know about the I.O.R.’s financial books.  The other theory is that her disappearance (and subsequent death?) was instead tied to facts surrounding the Turkish terrorist, Ali Agca, the man who took some shots at the former Polish Pope, Wojtyla on St. Peter’s square.  Apparently, Wojtyla had tried some 6 or 8 times to bring up the issue of Emanuela’s disappearance with the powers-that-be, but to no avail.

What her brother Pietro tried to obtain from Ratzinger remains to be seen and is probably of no public domain.  What could be encouraging for the Orlandi family is that once Bergoglio became Pope, he celebrated mass at the Santa Marta church, which is located inside the Vatican walls.  The Orlandi family still lives there, and both Pietro and his mother got to meet Pope Francesco.  Television images showed Pietro whispering something into the Pope’s ear.   What he said to him also remains a mystery.

Still, the look on the man’s face that day at St. Peter’s square for Ratzinger’s very last audience was somewhat sad, a face which seemed to say: “So here we go ONCE again, having to start ALL over with yet another Pope, trying to find an answer to my sister’s whereabouts” (as of yet, Emanuela’s body has never been found)!

As you can see from the pics, the audience itself was rather festive with the odd tourist-follower who shed a tear or two as this papal audience would be the very last one for Ratzinger before his departure by helicopter (and I was at St. Peter’s for that one too) for the papal summer residence near Rome, Castel Gandolfo (he’ll stay there two months before returning to a special residence located within the Vatican’s walls).

Pics on Ratzinger’s departure from St. Peter’s: 

http://www.demotix.com/news/1808969/pope-benedict-xvi-addresses-thousands-during-angelus-blessing

A day in the life of Rome (part 1)

Well, it was certainly quite the month-and-a-half for me as I went down to Rome (from Udine) to once again work on the Conclave (the one that chose the Argentine cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio as the new Pope)!

Back in 2005 I had worked for the American network NBC as a producer-translator during the amazing funeral of Pope John Paul II (and that very same evening we had checked out at Rome’s old PalaEur arena Queen with Brian May, Roger Taylor and with Paul Rodgers on vocals, formerly of Free and Bad Company!).  I had been the interpreter of NBC’s anchorman Brian Williams’s, indeed a very, very sharp guy.  We’d go down to St. Peter’s square to interview American tourists and followers on the death of the old Polish Pope (NBC, CBC, CNN and the other international tv networks were located right in front of St. Peter’s and on top of a roof).  That followed with the Conclave which had elected Joseph Ratzinger as the Vatican’s 265^th Pontiff.  I had been standing on the roof watching that famous white smoke come out of the small chimney located right next to the Basilica with the following phrase that all the world anxiously waits for when a new Pope has been elected: “Habemus Papam” (We have a Pope)!

So with the abdication of Ratzinger from his position as St. Peter’s successor, I contacted one of the NBC staff members at the Rock Centre (Rockefeller Centre) in NY and asked if they were going to need people again for yet another Conclave.   Just around the very same period a friend of mine in Rome, Isella, with whom I had already worked in 2005, called me to say that the NBC folks wanted to see me rather urgently in order to begin working on things.

And so it was that on February 15^th I took a train lickety-split down to Rome as Ratzinger had resigned just shortly before, and the entire world’s massive media army was getting ready to land once again in Rome (some 6,000 journalists showed up this time for the event).   What followed would be quite memorable, as you shall see from the next postings.  

The first memorable event occurred on February 22^nd, just two days before Italy’s national elections (one of many…) as the leader of the “Five Star Movement”, Beppe Grillo, was going to hold a final rally, his so-called “Tsunami Tour”, in Rome’s San Giovanni’s square (or St. John as it’s called in English. The Pope is actually the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of San Giovanni, and NOT, contrary to popular belief, of St. Peter’s.  On April 7^th, 2013, he went to San Giovanni for mass and to be officially named as Rome’s Bishop), a square which has a certain historical importance as it has hosted in the past some rather memorable political rallies.  It also hosts every May 1^st (international workers’ day) the free outdoor concert which attracts thousands of fans from all over Italy and some very interesting acts too (years ago I saw Sting there).

The convenient thing about San Giovanni is that as the crow flies it’s only about 400 meters from our place in Rome, so there was no need to take a car.  I simply walked over with my camera equipment and my press pass.  Now, knowing somewhat Roman-Italian organization (or should I say, “disorganization”), I didn’t request the photo accreditation, so I simply started walking around trying to figure out what would be the best way to get near to the stage to take pics of Grillo (it takes awhile but by ONLY using English and with a few cameras and a press pass around your neck you can get almost anywhere in Rome seeing that the average Roman still in 2013 speaks Shakespeare’s language rather poorly.  They basically “freeze” when they have someone in front of them who is English mother tongue).

I got refused entrance to the stage area the first time, but I didn’t give up as Grillo was going to show-up around 9 pm, and it was still early.  “Patience Mario”!, I said to myself.  And that patience paid off as I went back to the very same person who had refused me entrance to the stage the first time.  For some strange reason, he let me through to go to the stand where the accreditation area was located.  And there, using only English, I managed to get in line to go under the stage where Grillo would “bark” to his many faithful party followers (the guy reminds me of Il Duce when he used to yell to his beloved Fascist followers!).

Oddly enough, the Italian media was off-limits to the event.  It was only open to the foreign press, and having a London-based press card, I got in rather easily (again, only using English too).  Italian journalists were naturally 

“offended” that they had been deemed off-limits by Grillo and his staff members, and naturally called the cops!

And so there I was, right on the same stage with Grillo himself who walked by right under my nose.  I also got to go right under the stage where I shot the pictures you can see here below.  And it was all done by just using English.

My impression of Grillo that evening? As I said, he seems to do an awful lot of barking.  Just how much he’s able to “bite” remains though to be seen…

Benedict XVI's penultimate "Angelus"

Rome’s St. Peter’s square was filled with close to 200,000 people on February 17^th, 2013 during Joseph Ratzinger’s penultimate “Angelus” (the Pope addresses pilgrims for about 15 minutes from his papal apartment every Sunday at 12 noon precisely).

Ratzinger’s very last “Angelus” as St. Peter’s successor will take place on February 24^th, 2013 after having startled the Vatican and the entire world with his recent resignation from the Vatican’s highest office. 

The week leading up to the very last “Angelus” will consist of total silence for the 85 year-old Pontiff who has lead the Catholic Church for the last 8 years after the death of Pope John Paul II. 

His departure from St. Peter’s is scheduled for February 28^th at 8 pm.  He will spend two months at Castelgandolfo, the nearby papal summer residence.  Shortly after his departure from St. Peter’s the Conclave should be underway: the election and nomination of Benedict’s successor.

Seeing that the circumstances this time are rather extraordinary (seeing that a Pope has not died while still in “office”), the Conclave may take place before mid-March and/or just a few days after Ratzinger’s departure, therefore allowing the new Pope to celebrate Easter.

“And the winner is”?  Sources say that quite possibly Canada’s Cardinal Ouellet is favoured 7-2 to occupy the new “shoes of the fisherman”, but those at the moment are only speculations.  

 

Nevertheless, the entire world’s attention will be focused on the famous chimney which is connected to the Sistine Chapel where the Cardinals will congregate behind closed doors and in secrecy to elect Benedict’s successor.  Black smoke will signify no Pope, white smoke will signify “Habemus Papam” (We Have A Pope)!