As a Catholic, churches take on special meaning for me. Not only are they beautifully ornate and a testament to lifetimes of dedicated workmanship, but they are also holy buildings. Each time I enter one, after marveling at the incredible artwork, I will sit down in a pew and say a few prayers. And in Italy, I’m immediately confronted with a choice that I don’t have in the United States. To pad or not to pad.
The churches I’ve been to in America only have padded kneelers.
In Italy, however, you can lift the pad and kneel down on a hard plank before praying. As a visitor who wants to show proper respect, I don’t want to speculate too much, but it would seem that if you’re feeling particularly guilty that day, the unspoken hint is that you should lift the padding and kneel down on the wood. The pain will help you focus, and seems to be a purer form of contrition. Also, it feels that when you’re asking for a favor, every little bit helps. Right?
I grew up on the East Coast going to Catholic school, and something about that line of thinking feels right at home.
- Note and photos contributed by Mike Minadeo, photographer. Personal work here, work samples here. Also, 2011 Winner of the Roy Amara Prize for Participatory Foresight, 2011 British Airways "Face of Opportunity" Semi-Finalist… and ItalianNotebook.com reader!
I too went to Catholic school …so imagine my feeling of “Guilt” not being able to kneel at all after having Bilateral Knee Replacement. I at times feel the need to explain to those who stare or glare that I can not kneel!
Thanks for reminding me of the old times when, as a child studying at a Catholic school in Rome, I went to church with the rest of the class!
However, we were always told to lift the pad BEFORE putting our feet on, so that our dirty shoes wouldn’t touch the clean pad used ONLY to kneel down. And that’s what the adults did too. I never heard of the choice of kneeling down with or without pad according to the personal “level of guiltiness”, nor I have ever seen people lifting the pad before kneeling down: when they did so, it was to rest their feet on.
Someone’s going to get their clicker out – then we’ll see who kneels with and without a pad…. Sorry, I had to say it. St. Joe’s nuns.
Sweet story. Thanks. I never went to Catholic school, but am a practicing Catholic. Once guilt is taken out of the equation, reverence and spirituality can take on sweet tones and a reason to truly believe. Not judging others, whatever they do, can take on yet a third reason to truly believe. Perhaps if guilt were taken out of the mantra, more people would want to become Catholics.
YOU ARE ALL TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER THAT “BACK IN THE DAY” THERE WERE NO PADS ON KNEELERS…THEY WERE WOOD AND YOU KNELT ON THEM. THIS IS A NEW TWIST FOR ALL YOU WHINEY BABIES TO KEEP YOU IN THE FOLD.
THE GOOD SISTERS MIGHT ALLOW YOU NOT TO KNEEL IF YOUR LEG WAS BROKEN..OTHERWISE, NOT ONLY KNEEL, BUT WITH BACK STRAIGHT AND NOT LEANING AGAINST THE SEAT. THERE IS NO GUILT INVOLVED AT ALL!!
“AMEN TO THAT”
The God I know doesn’t think you need to be in pain to recognize his grace..but I understand where you are coming from..as an Italian Southern Baptist with a Catholic and Fundamentalist background!!
Thanks for such a perceptive and amusing note!
Ah yes, the dreaded clicker that the nuns used!! And if that didn’t get your attention you’d get whacked with the yardstick. Yep, good old St. Joe nuns. But we weren’t allowed to put our feet on the kneelers anyway.
How bout those wooden steps the Scala Sancta in Rome?
You and others who think the wood would be what is deserved for whatever reason, but particularly for contrition/punishment for wrong-doing — none of you are true Italian catholics. Italian first; catholic as part of life and culture.
No problem in Lutherville, Maryland to pad or not to pad. There are no kneelers in The Church Of The Nativity.
I agree with Emanuela.
The only reason to lift the pad is to have it clean when you want to kneel down.
I loved it. I am a 12-year Catholic school veteran from the east coast, and the thought that unpadded is a better choice when praying for a favor seems appropriate based on my reglious education experience. I enjoy Italian Notebook everyday.