Special Edition: Reflections from Rome
A few weeks ago in September, I had the extraordinary honor of joining Harvard Divinity School Dean Marla Frederick at the Vatican’s World Meeting on Human Fraternity. To be there, alongside leaders, thinkers, and bridge-builders, was deeply humbling and profoundly inspiring. Sharing the experience with Dean Frederick, whose moral clarity I admire, made it all the more meaningful.
I was scrambling at the last minute to find the right black veil (yes, a fascinator hat in the end), while
clearly endured shoes that pinched far more than they should have. Our group even whispered about the “right” way to greet the Pope, Holy Father? Your Holiness?, only to laugh later as we were too far back to shake his hand anyway.
That weekend also made history: the very first music concert ever held at the Vatican: The Great Embrace in St. Peter’s Square. We witnessed John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Pharrell Williams, Voices of Fire, and Andrea Bocelli singing Amazing Grace with Teddy Swims. The drone show lit up the Roman sky in a way that felt both cinematic and divine.
And then there was a quiet moment of synchronicity. My family traces back to Pope Julius II della Rovere, who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. He was born near Savona, in the same Ligurian region as my grandfather. To stand beneath that ceiling, centuries later, knowing history and heritage intertwined there, was moving in ways my words won’t capture.
What a gift. One I’ll carry forward with awe and gratitude. Thank you, Harvard Divinity School and Pope Leo for opening the doors to this unforgettable gathering.
Did you know?
✦ St. Peter the Apostle is buried directly beneath the altar at St. Peter’s Basilica, where Brian and I are pictured in the image above.
✦ Excavations in the 1940s uncovered bones consistent with a 1st-century man, giving powerful weight to tradition.
✦ Pilgrims have been coming here since Christianity’s earliest decades.
✦ Emperor Constantine built the first basilica on the site in the 4th century.
✦ In 1506, Pope Julius II laid the foundation stone for the grand St. Peter’s Basilica that stands today.
