Over the weekend, I was pretty excited about my upcoming trip to Rome and Vatican City. I’m currently writing this on the flight, actually! But over the last few days, my travel plans for on-the-ground in Rome and the Vatican have …drastically changed. You see, the other day a major papal plot twist happened.
Why did my plans change?
Unfortunately, Pope Francis passed away early morning on Monday, the day after Easter. For me, this was unsurprising given his failing health over the last few months, but it was unexpected given that he was able to do his normal things as Pope on Easter Sunday.
And honestly, I knew that him actually attending and presiding Carlo Acutis’ canonization would be a concern. And…now it isn’t. Because the Vatican has now also cancelled and postponed the canonization (unsurprisingly).
Because of Pope Francis’ passing, that set in motion the usual and traditional things that happen whenever a pope dies.
I almost canceled my trip
One of the glorious things of booking with miles and points is flexibility. Cancellation policies are more generous, and generally I can get all those points and miles back should I cancel.
When I found out Monday morning about Pope Francis had passed away and the canonization canceled, I did contemplate canceling this trip because the primary reasons or me going to Rome was no longer going to happen.
Ultimately, I decided to still go.
Why am I still going to Rome?
I have a few reasons for still going to Rome given the circumstances. Firstly, I still wanted this trip to be a review trip. I saw that both of my flights are on AA’s B777-200 aircraft, and I realized that I hadn’t yet made review notes for Main Cabin and Main Cabin Extra for this aircraft type. With these two flight reviews, I would’ve reviewed every seat type on this aircraft! Also, I’m staying at a Tapestry property for Hilton, and I’ve never stayed at one before, and I’d like to share my thoughts on that.
Secondly, the theme of papal plot twist continued. I found out on Tuesday (yesterday) that Pope Francis will lie in state at St. Peter’s for the remainder of the week, with a generous window of time for people to pay their respects. Additionally, the Vatican announced that his funeral is this Saturday at 10AM Rome time.
Given all this, my goals for my time in Rome and Vatican City regarding Pope Francis are now:
- Pay my respects at St. Peter’s
- Maybe attend a Requiem Mass for Pope Francis at a local church
- Attend the funeral (which may be a challenge)
- Be part of or observe the funeral procession (which will be historical since practically every pope is buried at St. Peter’s and this will be the first time that one …is not)
What else am I going to do in Rome?
…whatever the Romans do! Lol
I’m actually keeping this trip pretty open-ended as not even the papal stuff is set in stone for me as I will have to figure everything out on the ground on the fly. Winging it, really, since I have not booked these things for myself.
I did however book a cooking class for Saturday evening! I’m pretty excited about that. When I was in Barcelona last September, I used a food tour company at the recommendation of a coworker to do a food and wine tour and that was an incredible experience. I used the same company to boost his cooking class, and the reviews are really good!
Other than that…I plan on visiting churches around Rome. Eating Filipino food. And whatever seems cool to look at or do in the moment.
Bottom Line
My Rome trip for the canonization had a papal plot twist with Pope Francis’ passing. Now my itinerary in Rome is loosey-goosey and focused on attending the different mourning events.
But even then, I’ll have time to do a cooking class, visit churches and other things around Rome, and eat Filipino food!
How would you handle a big change to your travel itinerary?
