Voyeur no.1: Holier Than Thou

Sticking out among the colorfully-dressed, 'can't contain my excitement' crowd was an older white-haired man dressed in a brown robe. His frock was not unlike the ones I've seen on friars in Luther; Romeo and Juliet; and the first episode of Sex and the City's fourth season. Well beyond his notable-to-me style of dress was his defiant body language. Unlike just about every other audience member, his back was turned to St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope Francis would soon address and #bless(ed) those who came to see him.

That morning he woke up at 6:00 am in the modest and inexpensive hostel he was staying at to begin preparing for his day at Vatican City. He had voyaged to Rome on pilgrimage, and he felt a need to maximize his stay. His preparations for the day involved a streamlined routine of putting on his brown friar robes, fastening his hard-working feet into a trusty pair of comfortable white sneakers, and slinging his Canon EOS Digital SLR camera across his chest, followed by a meager breakfast. As a Franciscan friar, he lived a simple life (not to be confused with the reality television show of the same name) below the poverty line. His trip to the opulent Eternal City was no excuse to participate in its long tradition of excess.

The friar was eager to take part in the morning's grand activity, but his expectations were quickly shot. When I encountered him, it was quite clear that his experience was being sullied. He stood still,  hands at his side but dangling in the air, almost in disbelief. He squinted his eyes coldly, pointing them out at the masses of people making their way toward him to join the audience. He wasn't doing a very good job of concealing his disapproving countenance. Who could blame him? We were all there; we witnessed the barrage of selfie sticks ("Will these tacky metal rods please fade out of popularity before they're no longer a joke," he wondered with disgust), the tour guides attempting to capitalize on the holy site, and the plebes who clearly had no business being there, at least in his mind. With his back to the Papal show, for lack of a better word, he silently rejected all of us narcissistic ne'er-do-wells.

(Papal Audience at Piazza di San Pietro, Wednesday, May 27, 2015)