GL 350: How is the Catholic church Roman and universal?

Being in Rome and Italy in general, we are able to look more closely at Catholicism and determine if there are any similarities of differences between the way it works here and the way it works around the world in places such as our own home in America. You don't have to go very far to run into a church around here, to sit down at a mass and compare it to what we know about mass at home.

Here in Italy 81.2% of its population is Catholic, becoming its main religion throughout the country. We are able to see this by the thousands of churches that we see around Rome and other Italian cities we've visited. Here in Rome it is something that most people are passionate about within their own lives but they are able to share it with many other people in their communities.  While in the United States only 23.9% of our population is Catholic but that doesn't take away from the closeness one feels by having the bond with other Catholics whether it is American Catholics or Roman Catholics.

One way I have noticed it being universal is the mass from my perspective is almost, if not completely, the same as a mass at home. While at Papal mass on Sunday as well as the Papal audience on Wednesday, they translate the message in so many different languages that Catholicism has obviously reached. The order of every mass is fairly easy to follow even if it is in a different language. This makes coming to Rome knowing some of the Catholic traditions easier because you already know process and "schedule" of how mass is ran. It seems crazy to me how this religion can pick up every detail of its origin and bring it to another place.

Another way in which it is different is within the history of many of the churches here. While at home the Catholic churches are dedicated to certain saints, many of them do not have the history that the Roman churches do. For example when we went to visit the shrine of Santa Maria Goretti, her body was buried within that church. It is one thing to pray to a saint but to be able to pray to a saint in the presence of her body is something unreal. For me not being Catholic has made some parts of this trip confusing and I have questions about everything. Some of the stories I do not understand while this one helped me to understand some of the traditions which Catholics follow. Another example of the history being the within Roman Catholic churches versus the churches at home is there are many famous artists that helped create many of the works within the churches. In smiles, Michelangelo writes poems regarding his time he worked on the paintings within the Sistine chapel while many other churches within Rome were designed by artists such as him, Bernini, Donatello, and many others while at home we do not have the availability of that kind of history within our own chapels’ walls.

Being in Rome has taught me much about Catholicism that I would never have learned in a classroom. Being able to see the artwork and history first hand helps distinguish, in my mind, the differences, while it also helps be remember the universality of the religion itself.