So we got up mucho early to see the Pope. We were in the Lobby by 6:30 AM. We got to the gate of St. Angelica by 6:50 A.M. The gate was not the main gate but it was still packed:
Security didn't let people come in to the square until 7:28 AM and it was safe to say that by then we were so packed with people. They would let in only a few people at a time and those people would go through a metal detector. My friends all linked arms to make sure that we wouldn't be separated. Although the older people around were so rude and kept on pushing us and cutting in front of us (this was actually extremely annoying). Two old women got in between me and my friends even though my arms were still locked. The security guard closed the gate on the two old women and me while my friends got let through. I had to think fast otherwise I was going to be left behind. So I called out "mia sorella, mia sorella" to the guard while pointing at my friend Maria. Mia Sorella means my sister in Italian. The guard understood and opened the gate for me and the old ladies that were rude snuck in as well. We started to run for the seats after we got through the metal detectors (even though we weren't supposed to). Some Swiss guards were there to stop us and they could've if they wanted to. Although they didn't and one just winked at Stephanie. We got the fourth row if public seating. It was so great:
It unfortunately started to rain a and that brought out an army of umbrellas:
The pope's podium was so close:
And St. Peter's was so packed:
People were all waiting with anticipation for the pope to appear. After a while he did but before that the section next to us was roped off. One of the guards started waving people over to fill the reserved row. I was the first person to see it and I yelled to my group "let's go!" We all ran for it and our friend Stephanie led the charge. She almost tackled two people. But we got really close to the central aisle and that was worth it:
Then we saw the pope:
People got excited:
It was like seeing a rock star:
He smiled the whole time and people were going crazy for him:
He kissed and blessed a ton of babies:
He's the man:
I was so close:
Yes, he was 15 feet from me:
My favorite selfie of all time:
Kissing babies:
Then he went up to preach:
I didn't understand a lot of what he said because he only speaks Spanish and Italian but they did do the reading in a ton of different languages including English and they announced our school was there which was really cool:
Representing our school:
After he was done speaking he be leased us all, our families, loved ones and our sick friends. Also we lifted up objects and he blessed them too so I got a rosary blessed by him. He then went to greet a lot of the disabled that had special invites to see him:
One of the Swiss guards kept on talking to Maria and Steph. He answered all their questions and was really nice to them. They dropped something and he ran over to pick it up. He said "Caio Bella" to Maria when he left. This was that guard in the background and if you zoom on him, you can see him staring at Steph during this picture:
This guy had a shirt that said "I ❤️ Papa Francesco". The pope saw it, liked it and pointed it out. One of the security guards came over and got it from the man for the pope. It was pretty cool:
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