Rick mentions a sung Gregorian Mass at San Giorgio Maggiore across the lagoon from St. Mark's square (8:00 daily, 11:00 Sunday). Has anyone ever been to this or to any other special Mass experience in Venice? We attended Mass at St. Mark's on our last visit and recommend it. There were only about 15 people there for morning mass on a rainy Thursday and, although the church was not all lit up, we did enjoy experiencing it with no crowds and as a place of worship.
Posted by
OP
St. Louis, MO (formerly, Windermere, FL)
340 posts
Thank you for your responses. How disappointing!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Glad you asked. Don't get your hopes up. (We went to the Sunday morning Gregorian mass in May 2008.) There were only about 15 people in attendance. The "sung" portion was just one priest who sounded like Elmer Fudd and who could barely be seen behind the lectern. Seriously. We left discreetly rather than waste an hour. The church itself is worth a visit, but I can't recommend that mass.
(We had much better luck going to a service in Rome at Santa Maria in Trastevere - it was Pentecost and the service was led by a cardinal in his full red glory.)
Posted by
Frisco, Texas
59 posts
I agree with the above. Was there at the same time, and it was not as cool as I was hoping. Skip it.
Posted by
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1 posts
Mass is a meaningful religious experience to those who attend it. It is not meant to be a touristic, camera popping event.
Posted by
shen, ca, usa
111 posts
We happened to be visiting San Giovanni in Rome earlier in June. They were rehearsing a concert, the organ and choir were out of this world. The accidental events during travel made lifetime memories. You'll have your share. Enjoy!
Posted by
Swedesboro, NJ, United States
9 posts
My husband and I went to this Mass last year. It really wasn't any different than an ordinary Mass. The priest was quite elderly and has trouble with the singing parts of the liturgy, but you could still tell that many years ago he probably had a great voice. If you are expecting a concert, look elsewhere. It was still an amazing place to worship if you are so inclined.
As kind of a side note, I did notice that all through the Mass, there were a lot of tourists coming in and sightseeing in the church even though the doors were closed and there were signs outside telling people that Mass was in progress and to wait outside. PLEASE, if you are not worshipping, don't sightsee while others are. It is incredibly rude and distracting. These are real churches and should be treated as such.
Sorry to get a little off topic!