Today, well, actually yesterday my wife Beth and I began our pilgrimage to Rome. While this will not be a traditional carry your backpack and walk many miles Camino. We will be doing plenty of walking and seeing historic sites. Although Beth and I have been to Rome many times and seen arguably all that there is to see from a tourist perspective this trip is special. We are very blessed to be here at the invitation of our friend Father Bob Cannon. Father Bob just retired as the head Chaplin at Travis AFB in California. He is now working in Washington DC as the for the Bishop of the Armed Services. He is responsible for serving all of the men and women Catholics who are in the military or working for us US Foreign services.
Father Bob has a long history in Rome as he lived here for many years while studying Cannon Law. Yes, I do see the irony in being a Cannon Lawyer and having the last name of Cannon. Anyway during his studies in Rome he had the opportunity to meet Mother Theresa on more than one occasion. So when it was announced that she would be Canonized on September 4, 2016 it was only natural that he would attend.
Beth and I met Father Bob through a dear friend of ours who is currently a Chaplin and a Colonel in the Army reserve. Joanne worked for Father Bob at Travis and they became friends. One night not so long ago we all 4 had dinner together. It was a really fun night. We never are at a loss for words with Joanne and Father Bob turned out to be just the same. We talked about everything under the sun and more during a really fun night. About 2 hours after they had left, Joanne, called Beth to tell her that Father Bob wanted us to join them here in Rome for the Canonization. Wow! we were so shocked and humbled. We could not pass up this trip of a lifetime and did whatever we could to make it work out. So here we are in Rome having just arrived a few hours ago. It is crazy weather here. It is still about 85 degrees outside but raining and with a little thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure. None of that will slow us down though. What will make this trip different is that we are going to see Roma through the eyes of Father Bob. Of course the highlight of the trip is going to be the canonization, but we are also going to have a chance to go places in the Vatican and other churches that are not normally accessible to laypeople and to hear stories that we might not have the opportunity to hear.
Let the adventure begin.