Virginia Stannard, seated, and her daughter Helen Stannard, standing next to her, watch as Pope Benedict XVI passes down the aisle at midnight Mass this past Christmas. A parishioner at Blessed Sacrament in Springfield, Stannard treated 15 of her family members to a trip to Rome in December.

For over 40 years Blessed Sacrament parishioner Virginia Stannard has watched the Holy Father celebrate midnight Mass on television every Christmas Eve. Although she had been to Rome several times before, Stannard always hoped that one day she would attend that Mass herself. This past Christmas the 81-year-old mother and grandmother decided to invest in a trip of a lifetime. Moreover, she treated 15 of her relatives to the same holiday.

Stannard's oldest daughter, Virginia McConnell, says her mother first asked the family members to consider taking the special pilgrimage early last spring. "We made the request last April and we were lucky enough to be able to get the tickets through Bishop (George) Lucas' office," says McConnell, who is a member of St. Agnes Parish in Springfield. "We were certainly appreciative of the bishop for getting those tickets for us."

After months of planning, Stannard, her five adult children, two daughter-in-laws and eight grandchildren (ages 10 to 22) left for Rome on Dec. 19. "On the way there we all flew together on one plane, which I admit made us a little nervous. However, we figured that God wouldn't take all of us before we were able to see the pope," McConnell says with a chuckle. "And while we were in Rome we were all able to stay very close by in a convent with some Italian nuns.

"For midnight Mass our game plan was to get on an aisle, and we did," she says, admitting that they stood in line for five-and-a-half hours before entering St. Peter's Basilica. Besides attending that Mass, the family celebrated Christmas by attending Pope Benedict's XVI's urbi et orbi blessing. "And, of course, we all had our (Christmas) stockings," McConnell says.

During the trip the family also shopped in a huge Christmas market and saw the sights in Rome. Even the youngest members of the Stannard family were impressed by all they experienced. "They were really interested in everything. Some nights we'd be walking back at St. Peter's Square and they would look up to see a light on his apartment and they'd say, ‘Look! The pope is still up.'

The entire Stannard family gathers on the Appian Way.

"They were prepared for the trip and knew the significance of what we'd see," McConnell says. "And we actually saw the Holy Father three times."

Some of the family members went ice skating over the Christmas holiday, where they met two priests who were Legionaries of Christ. Those priests were in Rome for an ordination and invited all of them to a Mass they were celebrating.

Cousins Cavan and Joseph Stannard, both students at Blessed Sacrament School in Springfield, were altar servers at a Dec. 26 Mass that was held in a chapel in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica. "That was such a wonderful experience," McConnell says. "You can hear other people singing and chanting in the other chapels."

All of the travelers returned to Springfield before New Year's to return to their daily school and work routines. Part of Virginia Stannard's regular schedule includes attending daily Mass at Blessed Sacrament.     

Stannard sees being able to attend daily Mass as a blessing, says McConnell. "When our mother was a little girl the family lived in Sorento, where they were the only Catholic family in the town. They were only able to get to Sunday Mass every two weeks because a priest would pick them up and drive them to St. Ubaldus Parish in New Douglas.

"So you can understand why her faith and the opportunity to attend Mass are so important to her. Her strong faith has sustained her through a lot of trials in her life," McConnell says. "Of course, taking us all to Rome was her ultimate dream come true."