This morning Pope Benedict XVI presided over the annual baptism of babies in the Sistine Chapel. In what is always a beautiful and touching ceremony, a group of parents — dressed to the nines– bring their newborns into the spectacular Sistine Chapel. There, under the ceiling painted by Michelangelo, the Pope sprinkled 16 newborns with …
Every year the Christmas season begins for me when we cover the arrival of the Vatican Christmas tree. We go to the Vatican at dawn and film as an 18-wheeler, flat-bed truck rolls into St. Peter’s Square with the gigantic tree. We stand around stamping our feet in the chilly, damp air as men in …
In May 2009 I learned that not only food but soccer (or “calcio”–meaning “kick” in Italian) is a fundamental conversation topic for anyone spending time in Italy. It came about in a strange way. I was among the journalists on the Papal plane on Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Territories. …
Last week I did a story for AP television on Alessia Giuliani, the first woman photographer dedicated exclusively to covering the Vatican and the Pope. I decided to do the story while we were both covering the Pope’s trip to Madrid for World Youth Day last August. On Pope trips I have to drag around …