One Night at the Vatican

Janelle Peregoy reminisces about a very special Christmas Eve spent with a baby at Saint Peter's Basilica.

“Okay …” 

The okay from the mouth of my Jesuit priest friend didn’t sound particularly convincing. We had just told him that we didn’t have tickets to go into Saint Peter’s Basilica for Christmas Eve Mass.  

It was 2017. Our oldest son was 9 months old. My husband and I calculated (rightly, in retrospect) that it would be the last opportunity for a while to travel internationally. So, we decided to go to Rome for Christmas and attend Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican. 

Seeing Pope Francis was pure bucket list. We weren’t going to be deterred by a pesky lack of tickets. Worst case, we would stand outside the basilica during the entire Mass.  

My friend regrouped. “Well, we’ll pray about it and see what happens.” 

Prayers answered 

On the night of the Dec. 23, my friend texted me. Someone in his community was offering three tickets – not one, not three, not four. There were the exact number of tickets that my small family needed. Now, we would have seats inside Saint Peter’s to see Pope Francis and my friend co-preside with his hundred closest priest friends. We were elated! 

After standing in a security line for hours waiting for entrance, I sniffed my son’s diaper. I would need to find a restroom while my husband saved our seats. The line for the women’s restroom was long, excruciatingly long. I kept bouncing my increasingly agitated baby.  

A small group of religious sisters exited the restroom. It became clear that they had noticed me and my son. They began gesturing and speaking to each other in a language I didn’t recognize. Then, they indicated that I should follow them. I glanced nervously back at the line I was leaving. It had only grown. Now, it was only 45 minutes before Mass would begin. 

They walked me back to the restroom and squeezed past the line. There was a small alcove with a changing table! The sisters were trying to tell me that there was no reason to stand in line. I shook my hands in an exaggerated gesture of gratitude. Turning to the changing table, I expected that they would wave to me and walk away. 

Instead, they immediately created a fortress with their bodies facing outward from us. I don’t know if they were securing our privacy or simply wanted to make it clear to everyone else that this diaper change was priority. I can think of few other moments in my life where I felt so cherished and protected by strangers.

After changing my son, we walked out and were greeted with some more sisters from their order. One spoke some English and translated for all of us. The sisters were from Albania, and like us, it was their first time at the Vatican. When I shared that my son is named Nicholas, there was a flurry of delighted conversation. I have since learned that Saint Nicholas is a favored saint in Albania.

As we finally parted with hugs and promises to pray for each other, one of the original sisters pressed a medal of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux into my hand. The English-speaking sister told me to give it to Nicholas on the day of his First Communion. He will receive it this upcoming May. 

Christmas Eve Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica 

Christmas Eve Mass was beautiful. Pope Francis briefly passed within about ten feet of us as he processed down the main aisle. The liturgy itself was primarily in Italian but was punctuated with readings and intentions in Spanish, Swahili, and Mandarin, among others. The sign of peace was perhaps the most joyful moment of all, with everyone greeting each other with that same diversity of languages. The Holy Spirit was so palpable in the awed and reverent faces of those gathered there! 

Throughout the night, my eyes would drift along the wall to a life-size Nativity scene. My expectations had originally centered on the experience of being Saint Peter’s Basilica on such a holy night.  

I gazed down at my sleeping son. 

It was ultimately the sisters that held my heart in the memories of that night. In their kindness and generosity, I was vividly reminded of our shared purpose and celebration. 

We were there to welcome the Christ Child.  

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Copyright 2024 Janelle Peregoy
Images: copyright 2024 Janelle Peregoy, all rights reserved.