16 September with large groups on either side singing loudly in some unknown to gue! However this year, we made our way straight to John XXIII as soonas everyone was through security and had walked throug their second holy door

I got, up an hour early by mistake so thought I would continue with this and try to catch myself up before we leave Rome.

On 16 September, we had the great St Peter's day. This always involves an early start as they like to have the Masses finished before theyoen the doors to pilgrims and worse. So we had Mass scheduled for the tomb of John XXIII though until it happens, you never know if it will happen. But this year it did. The last coupld of years we have been bundled into an underground and airless chapel but this year we were in luck. So as soon as everyone had been through security and walked through their second holy door in two days, we all made our way to the tomb of John XXIII for Mass at 8.00. There was the usual crowd but the pilgrims were very adroit at seizing a seat on the two benches as soon as one became free. Then we saw Murray vested in red making his way from the far off sacristy preceded by a minute server who cant have been more then ten and who had Murray firmly under control! We had a lovely Mass and a beautiful homily from Murray about thenincarnation and how it is happening all the time in us, ending with a poem from Simeon the New Theologian,who died in 10something about how the reality of the incarnation is such that when I look at my hand, i am looking at Christ's hand and that this is truth not fantasy which has the power to transform the way we see ourselves.

After Mass ther was a break because tour style visits cant start until 9.00. Although all this organising is a biit of a nuisance, you can se ehow they are trying to make this central church available to all and still keep it as a place of prayer even though some thousands pass through it every day. No small task.

Andre gave his usual excellent presentstion which takes over an hour. We hire headphones so he speaks into a small microphone, there were dozens of such groups going round in dozens of languages and all on a sllightly different wave length of  radio so we dont hear each other. Very clever.

Almost as soon as we had entered St Peter's, the rain poured down in gallons, but by the time we came out, it had stopped, good timinng going on somewhere! After Mass, Murray appeared ina smart white T Shirt with the year of Mercy logo on. He said he had got soaked and dripped all overe the marble floor of the sacristy and had to buy a new shirt! The sisters who run the sacristy all  came to his rescue and toook his shirt to dry during Mass. He then went back to Tra Noi. The pilgrims had time on their own in the basilica and then pranzo out on their own. I went with Michael, pne of the pilgrims, to he hom sort put the SIM on his phone as  well as dping the same for myself and also to put money onAndre's phone. I did this first then Michael the Australian pilgrim took all te wind out of our sails by going up to the clever ypung Chinese  lad at the counter and addressing him in fluent
Mandarin! So I left him to it as he was clmearly ok! The clever lad could not do my phone as it was a different server, Wind not Tm. So I took a taxi to another shop, waited half and hour only to be told they did nt do Wind either. So i began dolefully to walk to the next one, almosta mile up the hill in heavy traffic when, much to  my relief, it began to rain so I decided to go home. On the way I went into a panneteria and bought two fresh panini, some cheese and olves with chilli in which the woman kindly made into two big baps for my lunch. This cost me 3 euros, about £2.50, and included two pars and some grapes and I had a lovely lunch Listening to  music and relaxing.
It was a free afternoon, i did some trabslati for CTC about the earthquake in Italy, some of the Poor Clares have had massive damage and are in dire financial straits as they have not yet paid for the last lot of repairs from the previous earthquake,i also spent some time reading up about Margaret of Cortona as we are going to her shrine instead of the capuchin place at Le Celle where the parking has become so difficult. I am sure somethi else happene but it eludes me utterly.mso sorry. Love to one and all ft