Habemus Papam!

It's news all over the world and we've had an interesting view of it all from Bologna.  It started on April 21 when we were in Piazza Nettuno for the 80th anniversary celebration of the Liberation of Bologna from the Nazi-Fascists.  The organizers paused the ceremony to hold a moment of silence for Papa Francesco.  We were all amazed, he had just celebrated Easter mass the day before.  See a video below of that ceremony.  What is pictured is not the moment of silence, but rather a bugle solo to recognize the lives lost.  

Next came a declaration from Georgia Meloni's administration that there would be a (totally unprecedented) 5-day national mourning period for Papa Francesco and that all acknowledgements of Italy's Liberation Day (a national holiday celebrated on April 25th) should be done in a sober manner.  Conveniently, Meloni planned a trip out of the country on that day.

On Saturday, April 26th we could hear a church service wafting in on the breeze from the balcony.  It suddenly occurred to me that this might not be a regular service.  I turned on the TV and realized that there were enough people watching the pope's funeral live that it was effectively being simulcast to the nation.

My favorite part of this time, however, was the learning we did in our Italian class.  From studying about the rules of the conclave (above), to reviewing quotes from Papa Francesco and choosing our favorites, to reading online about the top likely candidates (including Bologna's very own 'prete della strada' Cardinale Zuppi, pictured in the middle of the top row here, right), it's been exciting to dig in.

One more Italian lesson we had in this series was on idiomatic expressions with pope references (see our worksheet for helpful images).  If you're looking to add some to your lexicon, here are some to try:

1. Habemus papam! literally, We have a pope! 
   It's used to announce a milestone, usually something pretty common, but that takes some effort, like when a family member graduates from university.  My favorite example of this was when our instructor's Dad and sister came home from her driver's license test, this is how he announced she had passed.
   
   
2. Chi ha fatto trenta puo fare trentuno literally, Who has done thirty can do thirty one. 
   According to our text, it comes from Papa Leone X in 1517 who needed to gather church leaders to nominate cardinals and realized, at the last minute, that he had forgotten to add one.  He added the leader and coined the phrase.  Now it's used to encourage someone make just a little more effort in the final stretch.
   
   
3. Entrare papa in conclave e uscirne vescovo literaly, Going in a pope to the conclave and coming out a bishop. 
   It's meant to remind people that high expectations at the beginning don't always mean a big result.  Could be used to remind someone that despite being a favorite for a promotion, it's not theirs yet.
   
   
4. Ad ogni morte di papa literally, In each pope's death. 
   This is like the English 'once in a blue moon' and should be used for the most banal things that you rarely do: clean out the fridge, go after the cobwebs on the ceiling, etc.
   
   
5. Stare come un papa literally, Stay like a pope.
   Used for describing comfy situations.  Did you see Sara's new apartment?  It's got two bathrooms, a balcony with an amazing view, and there's lots of green space nearby, sta come un papa!