Apologies for the delay in blog entries. Between work and trying to experience all the great things Cape Town has to offer, it's hard to sit down and actually write about them! Needless to say, I'm back and here to report on my new found parish, St. Mary's Cathedral!
Having been raised in a devoted catholic family my whole life, I had every intention to continue attending services here in South Africa. Lucky for me, St. Mary's Cathedral is a beautiful Roman Catholic Cathedral just a five minute walk from my house! It has wonderful architecture on the outside and is actually the oldest Catholic Cathedral in South Africa! The parish is a great mix of all different types of people, from native Cape Towners, (both Afrikans and Zulu), to visitors and passerbys. The thing I love about the Catholic church is that no matter where you go to worship, even if it is thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, you know you will feel right at home because the mass is always the same. I walked out of the church after my first mass a few weeks ago on a Sunday night so overjoyed by the fact that I had found a parish that I was very happy with and reminded me of home. Plus, The celebrant, congregation, and everyone involved are so nice and friendly.
The celebrant at St. Mark's is an energetic priest who says a great mass. Just last Sunday at 10 am mass, he stood at the altar at the end of the mass and said 'I heard a bunch of "amens" at communion so there must be a few Americans out there this morning.' He then encouraged us all to raise our hands and introduce ourselves to the congregation and where we were from. I slowly raised my hand and said I was from Rhode Island. His response was priceless...."Miss Rhode Island, Miss Congeniality!" Haha I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that all the way across the world and the few things anyone knows about Rhode Island is the hit comedy Miss Congeniality! But I guess if it weren't for Sandra Bullock, he wouldn't have known about Rhode Island (as most do not) so I can't really complain!
I'm happy to report that I now feel that I've established a solid Sunday tradition for 10 am mass. Although St. Mary's is no St. Luke's or the Providence Cathedral, it's just up my ally and exactly what I was looking for. All in all.....success!
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