by
Ryan Clement
“Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant…'” Matthew 26:27-28
MANY MANY YEARS AGO, I was in Rome over the Easter period. We arrived on Good Friday. Our hotel was about 20 minutes walk from the Colosseum – I shall add pictures in an updated version of this blog because I am referring to a pre-digital era, which means I shall have to scan them in! 📸 On the evening of our arrival, we saw a vast crowd had gathered near the ancient amphitheatre. Upon close inspection and making our way through the crowds the best we could, we were able to see the subject of the crowd’s attention. It was none other than His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.
DESPITE the many subjects I write about, I leave it to those more learned than I to write about politics and religion. Hence, this blog gives no opinion on the subject matter, other than to say, similar to how a younger I had felt seeing such a world famous figure whom, until then, I had only ever seen on my television many times and whose image decorated the windows of almost every shop I had seen in Rome, it was a moving experience sitting in Valencia Cathedral on 4 October 2025, quietly sharing a space with a chalice that is claimed to be the true Holy Grail, although its historical authenticity remains debated by scholars.
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Ryan Clement 
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