We had prepared carefully for last year's pilgrimage to Assisi, staging a silent mime of the Canticle of the Creatures. When it went so well, two months later—April, that is—we were asked to create a mime for the jubilee mass on June 12th in St. Peter's Square.
We thought: mime of the Gospel is something we know. We'll just refine a few sets. We didn't foresee the emotional weight that place and occasion would bring. For our Fede e Luce gatherings—our regular meetings—Gospel mime is routine, a beautiful way to live and touch the moments of Jesus's life. For many of us it's the best way to understand what the priest reads at the altar. To imagine it happening right now, before our eyes... it's a small miracle that brings Christ's story into our midst, here and now. Nothing simpler. Nothing more important.
We hope that everyone who saw what unfolded that day in the square felt this spirit—felt themselves among those people two thousand years ago in Galilee.
Alessandra was our director. Rita brought boundless organizational skill. Norina, Andrea, and I first gathered at Stefano's home—our dear friend and provincial coordinator who returned to heaven last November, whom we miss terribly but feel strangely near. His sister Roberta and her husband Alessandro opened their home to us, discreetly joining the effort. It felt like the right place to begin. As we sat around the table reading the Gospel we would bring to life, we realized how many people we'd need: Jesus, the apostles, the Pharisees, the women who followed him. The group from Assisi wouldn't be enough. So we searched the Roman communities for people willing to rehearse in the little time we had, and we assembled a varied group—various nationalities too. Julie du Chéné arrived from France for the final rehearsal on the steps.
Don Francesco with Charlie and Andreina, our Vatican contacts, welcomed us and patiently worked through our proposals. Deacon Gianmarco, who read the Gospel, understood perfectly the timing we needed to move without difficulty.
Not everyone in the mime knew each other beforehand. It was beautiful to watch friendships deepen. Some moments will stay with us for years.
Among the women, Laura brought personalized Gospel sheets to each rehearsal and distributed them, urging everyone to prepare well. Roberta managed elaborate costume and headdress work. Chiara threw herself into the role, meticulously reminding everyone what to do. Alejandra and Mara brought costume expertise that gave the Gospel scene authentic, striking realism. Veronica patiently held costumes through rehearsals despite heat that made a swimsuit preferable to robes and headdress; Bianca, experienced in integrated theater, stayed composed and shy until the end, then showed her emotion. Julie joined with energy and bright smiles only at the final rehearsal, grasped what we wanted through simultaneous translation by Daniele and Titti, and had great fun choosing clothes.
Among the debtors, Pietro moved convincingly despite his bad back, drawing on his strong mime skill to show his inability to repay. Daniele deeply understood gratitude for debt forgiven. Among the apostles: Manlio got distracted by the cameras and waved, but stayed in character; Paolo was shy but realistic in his restraint; Franco, the "small" apostle, kept trying to slip in a song despite knowing mime has no dialogue. Marco S. patiently endured costume changes; Marco C. reminded us we couldn't fail in front of His Holiness—we had to be perfect. Marco P. spurred us on through WhatsApp updates. Valerio was convinced he needed no rehearsal. He helped ease tension by reminding us—as always in Fede e Luce—to do everything in spirit, setting aside the extraordinary weight of it all.
Maurizio, calm among the Pharisees, attentively followed the mime's development. Giovanni wrote a letter to Ombre e Luci afterward (p. 3), sharing his impressions. Alessandro, our Jesus, was deeply moved; despite hesitation at moments, he fully inhabited this difficult role. We cannot name everyone, but each contribution was essential.
When His Holiness passed near us in the square and gave a thumbs-up, we had our answer. It erased the exhaustion of organizing during year-end chaos, when everything piles on. That gesture and his smile repaid us for the hunt for costumes, the rehearsals, the logistics, the rain and sun—everything we'd loved building together.
by Maria Agnese Boitani, 2016