The Day
On October 25, 1998, the day after his election to the papacy, the pope
said his first Papal Mass. It was indeed a day of great expectation as
the local faithful prepared the altar, and as travelers came to bend their
knee and kiss the hand of the new pontiff.
The Bouquet
The pope received a bouquet of 13 roses: 12 red roses to represent the 12 Apostles, and 1 white rose to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition, the 13 roses represented the number after his name . This was an idea given by a wonderful Catholic man of Spanish heritage to show his respect and support for the pope. The pope directed that the flowers be placed in vases onto the altar to further adorn the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Ceremonies
At approximately 4:00 PM, US Mountain Time, the ceremonies began. The new pope vested, took the Papal Oath of Office, and then began Mass. It was a simple High Mass, sung by the Pontiff and the faithful in the traditional manner. It was indeed a beautiful service for all Catholics present and especially for those who remember such from times past.We all learned many things from the pope's sermon, with regard to the papacy. For example:
We learned that a pope has the loneliest job on earth because he has no peer. When a priest or a bishop serve the faithful, they are indeed looked up to, but a priest or a bishop can occasionally meet with their peers. Not so with a pope.Did you know that a pope never says Mass with the Blessed Sacrament present in the tabernacle on the altar? During a Papal Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is moved to a side tabernacle. This is because, as strange as it sounds, God Almighty is giving a reverence to a human being, His Vicar, and God wills not to compete for the attention given His Vicar.
Did you know that when a priest blesses, he makes the sign of the Cross once, but a pope always blesses making the sign of the Cross 3 times, left, center and right.
After Mass
After Mass, the pope was presented with a simple cake, with the inscription, "Long Live Pius XIII." The faithful each shared in a quite small piece of the cake. The pope was quite jovial and showed that he indeed has kept his sense of humor.
For those present, it will be a day they will long remember!
"Long Live Pope Pius XIII!"
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