It's Not Sunday, but Let's Go to Church Anyway

Europe is chock full of cathedrals, churches, and many other religious structures. I have been to church more times abroad than I have for five years. If you happen to be a religious person, then by all means attend a service in a foreign country. However, if you are uncomfortable with the religious aspects of church (warning: church and religion go hand in hand), then I highly recommend going to observe from an historical perspective. Services have been taking place for hundreds of years and the most authentic kind of service can only be found abroad.

Going to the Vatican service was perhaps the most interesting experience. Vatican City is the center of Catholicism in the world. This is where the pope lives, where he is elected, and many people come just because of their faith. Rarely will you find a service in the United States that is spoken entirely in Latin. In contrast, every service that takes place in Vatican City is either mostly or entirely in Latin. In fact, most services in Europe have Latin components. From what I could gather, only the most devout were in attendance, with the exception of those tourists who decided to go to mass to observe people for the historical value it holds.

While in Paris last weekend, I happened to walk through Notre Dame during a service. Keep in mind that none of these days were Sunday, but due to the popularity and historical value of these churches, a service will take place most every day. While walking through Notre Dame, I noticed that Latin and French were mixed in an awkward yet fluid manner. Latin can be a rough language where as French can flow so much easier. Another point of interest is that high definition television screens had been installed so everyone could get a view of the priest conducting the service.

Behind the platform the priest stood on was the choir. This is no ordinary choir. I cannot say for certain, but this is not the kind of choir to accept any person to sing. They were professional and it definitely seemed like they have rehearsed their material. The choir harmonized like no other I have heard and it was an incredible experience.

I also walked through the service in Sacré Cœur which had an entirely different feel than the other two. The service seemed more relaxed to start with, although they did not allow pictures inside the church. While I could not understand the French the priest was saying, at one point the whole crowd burst in laughter. I cannot imagine this moderately informal type of service taking place in the Vatican. Regardless, there is always a routine with church services. There is a prayer, song, communion, and the only variation comes from the speaker of the day. While this aspect of the performance, if you will, can be improvised, the entirety of each service is planned and rehearsed merely from repetition.

These services all took place in non-English speaking countries. Remarkably, the format at St. Paul's in London is similar. I only saw the preparations for this event, but as always, the priest stands in front with the alter boys beside him and the choir in the back.

People with short attention spans should not take part in a church service. Yet if one is religious, has an interest in history, or is just plain curious to see how some people spend their days in church, then it is a great experience to take a walk through one of these larger cathedrals. I'll leave the impressions (or judgments) up to you.

Written by James Howe