There's No Place Like Rome

Correction: In the October 2006 issue of Gulfshore Life magazine, this Insights column misidentified a tour guide as London Blue Badge Guide Gastone Ciacci. Ciacci, a professional guide in Rome, was not the guide referenced during the tour of the catacombs of San Calisto. Gulfshore Life regrets the error.

As a trustee of the Naples Children & Education Foundation, Denise Cobb is well known for supporting causes that help underserved children. She is not known, however, for being at a loss for words. But that's exactly what happened when she visited Pope Benedict XVI on a trip to Rome with a small delegation that included Florida's first lady Columba Bush, CEO of Fun Time Early Childhood Academy Kim Long, artist and Florida Ambassador to the Arts Jonathan Green and the first lady of Florida's sister state in Japan, Natsuko Kimora.

While the Pope addressed the thousands of visitors in his general audience on May 10, the group enjoyed VIP seats, followed by a brief meeting with the Pope.

"The Pope came over to us, and we knew he would say 'hello' to Mrs. Bush," Cobb says. The Pope continued his greetings, then, "he locked eyes with me," Cobb says. "He reached past the people in front of me and grabbed my hand. And I said, 'Uhhh.' I was totally speechless."

She started to kiss his ring (above), but realized she'd grabbed the wrong hand. Then she finally said, "God bless you." "But I realized that's what he should be saying to me," she says, somewhat amused by how this whole scenario played out.

Plans for the trip began when Neapolitan and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Rooney, invited Mrs. Bush and Long to Rome. They then invited the others while a schedule developed to include dinners with dignitaries, museum tours, catacomb exploration and a visit to an orphanage.

The tour of Rome started with a stop at Sant'Egidio Community. It's an orphanage, where the group found children who were immigrants, some who have been abandoned and others with disabilities. "It was very homelike, and you could tell it was very loving there," Long says.

"[The children] were loved, and they knew it," says Green. "Those kids know about goodness. And they knew Kim had been around kids. All of the kids would gravitate to her and Mrs. Bush."

After a butler-served dinner that evening with U.S. Ambassador to Italy Ronald Spogli, the group started their second day touring the catacombs of San Calisto with a guide who, it turns out, couldn't keep his VIPs straight. "I noticed when he was talking that he was always looking directly at me," Cobb says. "At the end, he asked for a picture with me, and I said, 'Wouldn't you rather have a picture with Mrs. Bush?' He had mistaken me for her." After the guide sheepishly admitted, "You can tell I'm not very political," everyone gathered for a group picture. From there it was on to a formal lunch at the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican with Ambassador and Mrs. Rooney.

The delegation's motorcade included three cars, a minibus and two police escorts. "There were always three security people with us," says Long. "They all had [microphones] in their ears and were talking into their sleeves." When Long sat with Mrs. Bush in the front car, she was constantly alarmed by the other cars darting alongside the first lady's car. "I asked, 'What's going on in Rome today?' then I realized, 'Oh, it's you,'" she told Mrs. Bush.

On the third day, the group went to the general audience with the Pope, which began with a local high school band playing tunes like Puttin' on the Ritz and YMCA. "For me, as a Southern Baptist, it was so out of touch with what I'm used to hearing [in a religious setting]," Green says. "My enjoyment was just watching [the Pope address the audience] and seeing that energy going on. It was exciting, entertaining and spiritually moving."

After the general assembly, Mrs. Bush and Cobb inquired if a Mass could be held. A private Mass was created for the two of them and the first lady's security detail, during which the priest spoke about the Bush administration in Florida. "They tailored it to Columba," Cobb says. "Coincidently, it was Mother's Day in Mexico and the name of the church was Our Lady of Guadalupe, (Mrs. Bush is a native of Leon-Guanajuato, Mexico) and one of the young priests participating was Father John Donahue, grandson of Neapolitan and chairman of Federated Investors Jack Donahue, so there were tears flowing through the whole thing. It was really something."

The trip ended with a dinner at the Japanese Ambassador's home, which Long inadvertantly arranged. "He had the misfortune of sitting next to me [during lunch with the Rooneys]," Long says. After learning that he lived on the highest hill in Rome, Long told him, "We would love to see that," and the next day an engraved message arrived at the hotel asking if they wanted lunch or dinner. They enjoyed a relaxed six-course dinner.

After their whirlwind tour, Green says he was delighted to see the art of Rome and its culture. They also received the promise of a return trip, thanks to the airline. "We got round-trip tickets to Europe because the flight was cancelled-so that really stands out," he says.