Italy: Pope Parade

The congregation quickly quieted right before mass started in St. Mark's Basilica.  We strained our necks and scanned the church trying to figure out what captivated everyone's attention.  We then heard shuffling and looked to the left to see... it was unbelievable...

The Pope?!

THE POPE?!

The Pope walked around the inner walls of church and then, within arm's length, down the center aisle.  I instantly became holier.  An angel's halo formed above Ben's head.  Forgiveness washed away our sins.

We barely contained our excitement.

Until... we later learned it wasn't the Pope.  Bummer.  It was actually a cardinal, but we didn't know that until we found someone who spoke English about 90 minutes later. Oops!

The cardinal and other religious leaders marched in a ceremony around the Piazza San Marco after mass.  We took pictures even though we had no idea about their titles or the meanings of their clothing.

Here are a few snapshots.  The first picture is of the cardinal who we mistook for the Pope.  Easy mistake, right?