October 16, 2003, 9:43 a.m.
Air National Guard
PJPII’s 25th, VIP-style.

ROME, ITALY (3:00 P.M., Thursday) — Twelve hours into my trip to the Vatican, I have a travel tip for you: The next time you head off to Europe, try to be part of a presidential delegation. On Wednesday evening, thirteen delegates — including a couple of old friends, Mary Ellen Bork and Peggy Noonan — and six escorts met at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington to set off to Rome for the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II and the beatification of Mother Teresa.

During our smooth check-in there was one disconcerting request: We were asked to note our weight next to our names. As we waited in the well-appointed Distinguished Visitor's Lounge, I grew increasingly concerned about that particular request. I had, of course, fudged a bit on my weight and if it were a safety requirement, I figured maybe I ought to confess. But how small could a plane crossing the Atlantic be that the passenger's weight mattered?

As it turned out, the 19 of us took off at 10 P.M. on a Boeing 737 belonging to the National Guard with a 90-passenger capacity. Perhaps the declaration of our weight was a small humiliation designed to put us in the right frame of mind as we headed off to the Vatican City. It was the last declaration we were asked to make.

We landed in Rome at the Ciampino military airport after an eight-hour flight and were met, as we disembarked, on the airfield by the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Jim Nicholson, and his wife Suzanne.

Another elegant visitor's reception area awaited us and with no lines, documents, or inspections, we were welcomed to Rome. A police escort for our two small buses cleared our way through the city's famous traffic.

Thankfully, the weather is sunny and warm here for the anniversary. Early this evening we're due at St. Peter's Square, where there will be a Mass celebrated outdoors for the pope's 25th anniversary. On the way there, I'll see if one of our escorts can give me tips on how I might go about racking up frequent-flyer miles with my new favorite airline, the National Guard.

— Kate O'Beirne, National Review's Washington editor, is a member of the U.S. presidential delegation in Rome for Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary and the beatification of Mother Teresa. She will be filing occasional dispatches from there.

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