Surprise!

Once our tour of the Vatican was finished, Bishop Aymond and I headed out for some shopping! We were on a mission. He was looking for “bishop stuff” and I was just tagging along. We also had another idea – travel to the Vatican photo shop and find the photos from the general audience.

Many of you know the “Sam’s Club” of religious goods near the square but Bishop Aymond introduced me to the “Super Target”. This store is much nicer and I found some great stuff. Thanks BA!

We grabbed a quick panini and water and then headed back to the Vatican photo shop. It was easy finding the photo of his visit with B16 but we couldn’t find the photos of our group on the popemobile route. We found a photo near the area as he was looking right at our group. We thought that would have to be good enough but I had an idea – let’s find one of the aerial shots. Perfecto! There was a series of shots and we found one that had all of us in a line looking at and waving to the Holy Father. We bought several copies and passed them out at dinner to everyone. It was a hit!

Look at the L’Osservatore Romano site to view the photos.

After dinner, I headed out to Piazza Novano for a little Tartufo – a great desert made from chocolate gelato and truffles with whipped cream on top.

Tomorrow is a big day with Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore and a full day tour of Rome. Should have tons of photos….

I will pray for your intentions while at the Basilica.