First, the hotel was an hour late making wake-up calls to freelance photographer Dave Oxford, reporter Kate Blain and trip organizer Mary Breig. The rest of the pilgrims left on time for a Mass to be celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard at St. Peter's, while the staffers rushed to get ready and have the hotel desk call a taxi.

The taxi never arrived, but another driver agreed to make the trip for the same price the hotel had promised -- 80,000 lire, or about $40. That seemed expensive, but it wasn't until later that the staffers learned the trip should have cost about 15,000 lire. By then, 80,000 lire had been shelled out -- twice. Plus a tip.

Dual purpose

The Evangelist staffers arrived at St. Peter's at Communion time to find more than the usual complement of pilgrims: The Vatican had double-booked the altar of the Chair at St. Peter's, so the Albany Diocese and the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, celebrated Mass together.

Bishop Hubbard expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the pilgrims and clergy of both dioceses for joining forces, and remarked that "we were afraid there would be all kinds of battles, but everybody's blending very well."

Later, he told The Evangelist that he knew Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland, having been master of ceremonies at his ordination. When the pair found out about the mix-up, Bishop Hubbard said, "Well, you celebrate and I'll preach. But he said, `You have the bigger group. You do everything.'"

As the two bishops and 10 other priests from the two dioceses concelebrated, their voices carried through the massive basilica. Visitors gathered behind barriers to watch and photograph the Mass, while security guards kept them back.

Peter as model

Afterward, Bishop Hubbard reiterated his homily, which spoke of St. Peter as a role model.

"We think of Peter with a variety of scenes: being called by the Sea of Galilee...on the Mount of Transfiguration...when he denied Jesus...receiving the keys to the Kingdom," he told The Evangelist. "But we forget that ultimately, he suffered martyrdom."

The Bishop noted that "the cross is an integral part of Christian life. We tend to shun the cross, but we need to take up our cross and follow" Christ.

Homily help

Pilgrims helpfully explained the homily to The Evangelist staff.

"The Bishop talked about Peter as the first of the Apostles, but said he wanted to emphasize all the crosses he had to bear," said Bill Quinn of St. Clement's parish in Saratoga Springs, joking: "See, I listened!"

"Suffering, he said, is something people don't like to talk about," added Barbara Hislop of Palatine Bridge. As the pilgrim whose purse had been stolen in St. Susanna's Church the day before, she agreed that she'd experienced a little suffering during the pilgrimage.

"The worst part was telling my husband, but he said, `Don't worry about it; have a good time.'"

In Latin, please

Rev. Donald Manfred of Messina (in the Ogdensburg Diocese) remarked that the Bishop "has a huge number of stories!" He particularly enjoyed one about the Bishop's being asked during a visit to Rome in 1980 to read the English presentation of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's cause for beatification.

The Bishop had finished reading the scroll and turned away from the lectern but was told, "No, no, no -- turn it over!"

He did so and found that he was also expected to do the reading in Latin -- a language he hadn't read in about 15 years -- in front of the Holy Father and 10,000 spectators.

'High point'

Nick Mazur of St. Joseph's parish in Troy called the Mass "very good, beautiful" and a high point of the trip "to my way of thinking."

"It was very interesting. The Bishop talked about when he was first ordained," said Helen Mertz of St. John the Evangelist parish in Rensselaer.

Jack Keefe of Sacred Heart Church, Troy, appreciated that Bishop Hubbard "showed his humor." He also noted that he'd bumped into some pilgrims from Oregon that he'd shared lunch with the day before.

His wife, Marcia, put in that the couple also met their pastor, Rev. Gary Mercure, who is in Rome studying. They planned to join him for lunch.

Art treasures

After the Mass, the pilgrims adjourned to the Vatican Museum down the street, where thousands of visitors blocked hallways and guides shouted to be heard as they described the priceless art.

Crowded shoulder-to-shoulder, the group followed a local guide named Esther (a part-time journalist herself) through the Candelabra Gallery, which is filled with 19th-century paintings, and Greek and Roman sculptures. Esther said that the statues of people, particularly one of an elderly fisherman, demonstrate a turn toward realism in art during the second and first centuries B.C.

The pilgrims continued through the Tapestry Gallery, gazing at one wall of tapestries from the 17th century and another, more famous series created from sketches drawn by Raphael's pupils in the 16th century.

"These are exceptional because of the colors and details," Esther explained, adding that some tapestries originally had gold inside and were stolen because of that; the Vatican had to re-acquire them at a flea market.

Gazing at art

Two tapestries deserved particular attention: One, the largest in the Vatican Museum, depicted Christ's Resurrection, with details of Him walking out of the tomb as Roman guards and others look on. The other is rare because Christ is seen wearing a helmet as He meets Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection.

Beneath a ceiling thickly encrusted with gold, paintings and frescoes, the tour went on through the Maps Gallery, a series of maps showing Italy in the 16th century.

Rev. Leo O'Brien, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany, jokingly raised his cane like a guide leading a tour as the pilgrims traversed the Immaculate Conception Room, full of 19th-century paintings and a cabinet full of translations of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

On to Sistine

The next stop was the Sistine Chapel, built in the 16th century by Pope Sixtus IV. As the pilgrims descended the stairs to the famous chapel, an announcement in different languages echoed through the marble stairway: "You are about to enter the Sistine Chapel. We remind you that photography and videotaping are not allowed. Thank you."

Inside the rectangular room, voices were hushed as the pilgrims gaped at the ceiling where Michelangelo's God touched the finger of Adam to impart life, and where his painting of the Last Judgment separated sinners from those welcomed to heaven.

"This is amazing," breathed Brother Leo Merriman of Our Lady of Angels parish in Albany, gesturing at the ceiling. "There's the Creation up there, and there's the expelling of Adam and Eve from Eden."

The pilgrimage was Brother Leo's second trip to Rome, the first having been about 15 years ago, when his order, the Conventual Franciscans, used to send 10 friars a year to the Holy City. "We spent time in Rome and Assisi -- all the places where St. Francis went," he remembered. "It's my golden jubilee this year, so it was a great time to come over" again.

Fellow pilgrim Juvenile Williams of St. Mary's parish in Oneonta staggered through the chapel under the weight of a large plastic bag. "I'm the only one here from my parish," she told The Evangelist. "I'm carrying the books of all the people I'm praying for!"

Holy Door

Finally, the pilgrimage reached the end of the museum and the beginning of another journey: this one, through the Holy Door into St. Peter's.

Pilgrims paused briefly on the doorstep or touched the door's worn gold lintel as they entered; a guard gestured at Ray Koch of Warrensburg to remove his "Albany Diocese -- Rome 2000" baseball hat. He held it over his heart as he passed through the Holy Door.

Inside, Renaissance and Baroque art covered the walls, including Bernini's "Throne of St. Peter in Glory" and canopy over the altar, part of a mosaic by Giotto, a 13th-century statue of St. Peter by Arnolfo di Cambrio -- and of course, Michelangelo's "Pieta."

Pilgrims crowded toward the bigger-than-life sculpture, protected by a sheet of glass since it was damaged by a vandal in 1972. After a pause to contemplate one of the world's most famous works of art, the pilgrims dispersed into the city.