The Rome Temple Dedication

The Rome Temple dedication has made all the difference!  When the open house schedule was announced, the first public open house was on January 28, Craig’s birthday.  So I decided that we would plan to fly up for the day and attend the open house on our own to celebrate Craig’s Birthday.  I made reservations for us, printed our tickets and felt comfortable that we would be able to have the tour experience.  Von and Glenda Memory called us one random day and announced that they were coming to the open house and had reserved tickets for four people (thank you Mary Catherine) because they wanted us to meet them at the temple grounds.  So a quick change to February 4 for the flight to Rome. First impressions are worth a million words, the entire property is a sacred place and to top that off to share it with great friends was priceless.

Memorys and Andersons at The Rome Temple.

President Pickerd announced that our February Zone Conference would be held in Rome at the temple grounds on the weekend of February 10-11.  We were asked to accompany the Catania Zone Anzaini to attend. Bonus! We were going to get two opportunities to tour the Rome Temple and grounds. 

Catania Zone Anziani, Andersons and Pickerds

President Pickerd called again on March 8 to invite us to attend the temple dedication inside the temple.  He had extra tickets and we could be the recipients of this generous gift; I immediately accepted! We had planned to attend the Youth Meeting with President Nelson on March 9, at the Catania Chapel.  On Wednesday I received a call informing us that Simone Pappalardo had been selected to meet with the Prophet prior to the Youth meeting.  They had selected two youth from each stake to have a private meeting with the prophet, immediately after President Nelson’s meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. What an amazing blessing.  Simone needed to submit a question in English to the prophet for that meeting.  They wanted some help to make sure his English was accurate. All four of the Pappalardo boys flew to Rome for the Youth Meeting on Saturday.  We watched and waited to see them in the audience but couldn’t find them in the masses of Italian Youth. We heard Anziano and Sorelle DeFeo, President M. Russell Ballard and President and Sister Nelson address the Youth of Italy. I loved the address for Sister Nelson as she described her life with the Prophet of God.  She spoke about how she handled revelation in their home and her role as the wife of a Prophet.  Never before heard tender mercies! President Nelson challenged the Italian Youth with “Five Things to Know and Five Things to Do.”

Simone Pappalardo shakes hands with  President Nelson!

President and Sister Nelson with the Italian Youth.

Sunday Morning we prepared to attend the 12:00PM closed circuit session in the Catania Chapel with our Sigonella Branch. English Speakers were in the Relief Society Room.  We heard from Elders Holland, Ballard and Renlund and a member of the Italian Temple Presidency. President Nelson gave the Dedicatory Prayer.  He wanted to give the entire prayer before any translation, then have the translation would follow in the same format.  Elder Wilson of the Seventy led the Hosanna Shout.

 

Side story!  I wanted to provide each of our Catania Sorelle with a special Rome Temple handkerchief. That turned out to be quite a task.  There were no handkerchiefs available in the city of Catania, at the Italian Outlet Mall or at the Navy Exchange.  So if I were in the US where would I look??? I ended up at the Catania Flea Market (thank you Ashley Anderson Clark) digging through the pile of old Italian doilies and table clothes. I found five Italian linen and hand crocheted cloths, brought them home and little laundry some starch and walaa they each received an Italian cloth for the Hosanna shout!

Catania Ward tickets, Rome Temple Tickets, Italian Flea market handkerchief, Reserved seat and program !

We left Tuesday morning on the early flight to Rome for the March 12, 2:00PM temple dedication. We had planned to meet our SLC friends Gordon and Carlene Walker, Public Affairs missionaries at the temple grounds. We enjoyed a leisure morning at the temple grounds, reviewing the Visitor’s Center with the Christus, and the twelve apostles as well as the stained glass mural, the stake center and the Hospice building that fills out the four buildings around the Piazza, now being referred to as the “Rome Temple Square.” We were in line for the dedication when the black Mercedes van’s pulled up with the General Authorities.  Security moved us back from the doorway as they entered the temple.  It was then opened up for those waiting in line, we walked in right behind President Oaks, he turned around and greeted us with a warm handshake.  The Walkers had a seat reserved for us in the second instruction room, so up that beautiful winding staircase with that chandelier that takes your breath away, to our seats.  The General Authorities made a tour of all the rooms where people were seated to greet and wave.  We then heard from Elders Cook, Stevenson, Christofferson and President Oaks.  President Oaks did the Dedicatory Prayer.  He gave the prayer in paragraphs followed with the Italian translation. Elder Wilson led the Hosanna Shout.

In front of the temple doors with the Walkers and our booties!

Temple and visitor center mementos!

The Walkers gave us a ride back to the airport to catch our flight back to Catania, a precious few minutes in the car to catch up for 15 months of absence.  We are getting to be old hands at the Rome Fiumicino Airport.  Through security with no luggage to check left a while to contemplate our experience. 

Before we left for Denmark in 2107 Neils Valentiner, the Rome Temple Architect, told me about his dream to bring the original Twelve Apostles back to Rome from Denmark.  He had laser copied the Bertel Thorvaldsen pieces in Denmark to have them reproduced and returned to the Rome Temple Site. Little did either of us know that we would be blessed to not only have the original Twelve Apostles returned to Rome but to have the current Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency all together in Rome!

Who would have thought we would be at this place and this time to experience what we have experienced.  The Rome Temple Dedication has left a footprint on my heart that will remain part of me.  I have seen, heard and felt things that otherwise I wouldn’t be able to explain or confirm. I know the Lord loves me. I feel his presence in my being. He has blessed me enormously!

Following is the text of the dedicatory prayer of the Rome Italy Temple offered by President
Russell M. Nelson on Sunday, March 10, 2019.

O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Elohim, we come before Thee on this sacred occasion
in the name of Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to dedicate the Rome Italy Temple.

We thank Thee for Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who assures us of immortality and invites us to
repent and have enduring joy here and hereafter. We are grateful to Thee for providing us
with Thy great plan of happiness, that enables us to return to live with Thee.

We thank Thee for the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ through Thy
Prophet Joseph Smith. We are thankful that keys of the priesthood have been restored that
enable sacred ordinances to be performed on earth for the benefit of Thy children on both
sides of the veil.

In this ancient and great city that has stood since biblical times — in this historic nation of
Italy — we acknowledge the ministry of two of Thy Son’s early Apostles, Peter and Paul, who
once blessed this land with their labors. May the influence of their abiding testimony of Jesus
Christ continue to be felt among the vital values of this great country. We express gratitude
for the feelings of faith in and service to Jesus Christ that have long established this area as a
bastion of Christianity.

We thank Thee that Thou hast called Apostles in these latter days to bear special witness of
the name of Jesus Christ throughout the world. We pray for Thy blessings to be upon them as
they teach and testify of Thy Son and His gospel. We are grateful that all living Apostles are
participating in these dedicatory services.

We are thankful for the early missionaries of this dispensation who dedicated this part of Thy
vineyard for the preaching of the restored gospel. We give thanks for those who have labored
here ever since. May Thy work continue to flourish and righteousness prevail in this important
part of the world.

We are grateful for the support of church, government, and civic leaders who have offered
much-appreciated goodwill in our desire to build this holy temple here in Rome. Wilt Thou
bless them for their kindness and fortify their continued desire to preserve religious liberty for
all.

Bless Thy children that they may be imbued with an earnest desire to learn of Thee. Help
them to be receptive to the promptings of Thy Holy Spirit, seek the path of righteousness, and
choose to be blessed by obedience to Thy commandments.

We pray for members of Thy Church who reside within this temple district. Please bless them
and their families with faith in and devotion to Thy Son. Bless the youth that they may be
valiant in their testimonies of Jesus Christ. Bless the parents that they will be exemplary and
committed covenant keepers who strive to follow Thy Son and become more like Him.

May all Latter-day Saints in this area — young and old — be drawn frequently to this holy
temple. Bless them to feel Thy Spirit as they participate in the great redemptive work
performed here. May they be infused with the spirit of the gathering of Israel. May they
receive and perform sacred ordinances here with a commitment to stay on the covenant path
that leads to eternal life with their families.

Now, Beloved Father, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, and by the authority of the holy
Melchizedek Priesthood, we hereby dedicate unto Thee and unto Thy Son the Rome Italy
Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We dedicate this beautiful temple — from its footings to its spires — to be a house of the Lord,
raised up unto Thy Son for His holy redemptive work. We dedicate each room for Thy sacred
use. We dedicate the furnishings, fixtures, and supporting systems for their specific purposes.
We dedicate each of the ancillary buildings. We dedicate the adjacent landscaping and
grounds, that they may be attractive and kept safe from harm. As we dedicate the beautiful
visitors’ center, we are mindful that Jesus Christ and His early Apostles are magnificently
memorialized there in marble sculpture. May Thy blessings be upon all who visit the center,
that they may desire to come closer to Thy Son, learn more of His life and teachings, and be
numbered among the Lord’s devoted disciples.

Bless all workers who have helped to prepare these beautiful buildings and grounds. Wilt
Thou protect these facilities from natural disasters and any human acts of evil intent.
Wilt Thou bless the temple presidency and matrons who will render consecrated service.
Protect them and their families as they fulfill their callings. Bless all who serve here, that their
efforts may be extended with love and kindness as they assist patrons who come to receive
exalting ordinances for themselves and for their ancestors. Bless all those who come here
seeking to know Thy will in their lives, that they may receive needed inspiration and
revelation.

Beloved Father, we honor Thy holy name and that of Thy Son. We pray that Thy great plan of
salvation will continue to roll forward throughout the earth in accordance with Thy desire to
bless Thy children everywhere. On this sacred day, we express unto Thee our love and
gratitude for the privilege of dedicating this, the Rome Italy Temple, and do so in the sacred
name of Jesus Christ, amen.