Though I posted the unbelievable news on Facebook, I just realized that I hadn’t post it here on the blog. A week or so ago I highlighted the Vatican’s announcement of a monumental blogging conference set to take place the day after Pope John Paul II’s beatification in Rome (beatification on May 1, conference on May 2.)
For the meeting, the Vatican selected 150 bloggers from around the world–roughly ten from America–and by the grace of God I was one of them!
As soon as I found out I was selected, I started exploring the travel logistics. Finding a flight and a room was unbelievably difficult–all 300,000 Roman hotel rooms and 15,000 convent and monastery beds were supposed to be booked back in January when the beatification date was announced–but God somehow made it happen.
I booked a trans-Atlantic flight for this Friday night (April 29), which will get me to Rome Saturday evening. And I was thrilled to work out the perfect boarding situation: I’ll be staying just a short hop away from St. Peter’s square along with Lisa Hendey (CatholicMom.com), Lisa Wheeler (The Maximus Group), and a number of other bloggers.
So next Friday I’ll leave America en route to Rome, both anxious and amazed. I’ll be able to experience the Sunday morning beatification of one of my greatest heroes, Pope John Paul II. And on Monday I’ll be sitting with people from around the world–and Vatican leaders–dialoguing about blogging, social media, and what both mean for the Church.
Part of my mission is to spread the word about the upcoming Church and New Media book to the other gatherers. In designing the book, my major goal was to have the global Church engage these technologies. This trip will be a great chance to do just that as I hope to meet with some serious movers and shakers.
Finally, I’m planning to take plenty of video and pictures, and I’ll definitely provide updates on the blog. But until then, viva la Roma!
