Standing to my left, was a young Spanish couple. They both were dressed up for the occasion, him wearing a button down shirt and her a dress. Although not church appropriate, because her shoulders were bare, her dress was floor length, covering up her legs. The couple was dressed in coordination, with his shirt containing accents of the magenta color of her dress. Both were adorned with jewelry, him with small studs and her with large wooden dangling earrings. Appearing to be in their thirties, I would guess that they were newly weds, perhaps on their honeymoon. They stood closely together for the duration of the event, all while he held her purse. The woman took pictures of the pope as he initially passed by in the beginning precession, but the camera got put away once the speech began. The two spoke in Spanish to each other but understood the pope’s Italian as well. This was evident through their remarks to one another between certain ideas the pope spoke of. Their thoughts were spoken softly enough as not to be disruptive, but with enough passion to show how much they cared. Like several other members of the papal audience, they were familiar with the pope’s words, chiming in and reciting with him when appropriate. This made me think that this was not their first time in the papal audience, or that they are followers of the pope. Just like us, the couple remained present for the entirety of the event, staying attentive throughout, and, also like us, are now #blessed.
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ElyssaStudent studying Rome with Skidmore College |