| Basilica di San Marco, Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) If you want to witness the golden spirit of Venice, attend Vespers on Christmas Day inside Saint Mark's Basilica. Vespers is Evening Prayer, and takes place as dusk begins to fall. On a high holy day like Christmas, the Secondi Vespri is pure white magic.
"Vespers" means "evening," which became "evensong" in English. Gold is everywhere, glistening in the biblical stories told by the mosaics scrolled across the walls and ceilings of the Basilica. At the center is the Pala D'Oro, the shimmering panel of gold crafted in ancient Byzantium that frames the high altar. The Pala D'Oro feels like a direct line from Earth to the Heavens.
| The Pala D'Oro inside St. Mark's Basilica - Photo: Cat Bauer |
The Patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia, leads the proceedings, draped in gold, surrounded by a small tribe of golden-cloaked priests. Incense wafts through the air, swinging, swinging, from a golden censer on a chain. Placed on the center of the altar is an elaborate golden monstrance, a vessel that holds the Eucharist, with beams that radiate like rays of the sun.
The prayers are sung by the angelic voices of the choir, the Cappella Marciana, accompanied by the powerful tones of the organ. As you gaze around at the mosaics, breathe in the incense, and listen to the hymns, you are transported to an ethereal level of existence.
And then, as the Vespers come to a close, the Patriarch lifts the golden monstrance above his head and beams its heavenly energy left, right and center directly at the congregation and you are blasted with a stream of Good, Good, Good Vibrations.
| Madonna Nicopeia - Photo: Cat Bauer |
The coda of the evening is the
most beautiful. The Patriarch dons his pointy Golden headgear and grips a
golden staff. The priests descend from the altar and proceed down the
center of the Basilica, a cloud of incense in their wake. As he passes, the Patriarch blesses the congregation.
Then congregation joins in behind the procession. The choir in the balcony chants the same hymn over and over as the group makes it way over to the Madonna Nicopeia, the icon said to have been painted by Saint Luke himself, which I have written about many times before.
The Patriarch takes off his golden headgear, and talks to the Madonna Nicopeia using the familiar "tu" form of address. In addition to praying for the world in general, he asks her for personal blessings for Venice. To keep us safe. And it feels like she is actually listening.
Then congregation joins in behind the procession. The choir in the balcony chants the same hymn over and over as the group makes it way over to the Madonna Nicopeia, the icon said to have been painted by Saint Luke himself, which I have written about many times before.
The Patriarch takes off his golden headgear, and talks to the Madonna Nicopeia using the familiar "tu" form of address. In addition to praying for the world in general, he asks her for personal blessings for Venice. To keep us safe. And it feels like she is actually listening.
| Christmas in Piazza San Marco, Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer |
There are 12 Days of Christmas that lead up to Epiphany on January 6th and the arrival of the Three Wise Men, the day when the Magi visit the Christ child, so we are nestled in the warmth of the holiday season. While the rest world seems to be in turmoil this Christmas, inside Venice, all is calm. All is bright. May the golden energy of the Pala D'Oro reach everyone on Earth.
Buon Natale from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
