The Long History of the Church of Rome

Yesterday, I found myself in an unusual venue - an RC church in upstate New York for a funeral mass. It was a lovely ceremony, with just the right amount of, as the English say of the Church of Rome, smells and bells. In addition, the priest, who practiced law for years, delivered a clearheaded, straight-on sermon about the dearly departed and his lifelong connection to God and Jesus. As fond fair-wells go, this was a pitch-perfect sendoff with an appropriate degree of solemnity, though I maintained a sniffy critical distance from the popery, as good taste requires. The service at the eccentrically titled St Kateri Tekakwitha Parish was a warm-hearted Italian-American affair with the Massaronis, the Catalanos and my adored in-laws, the Perazzos, represented, the priest was the Rev Fallati, the organist was Dominick Giaquinto and the cantor was Christina Pizzino-Catalano. A reception followed at Cornell’s Restaurant, but it’s in Schenectady’s Little Italy so there was no cause for alarm. One was reminded of the mystical quintessence of the RC mass which I now discuss.