You know what?

I could not be prouder of Pope Benedict XVI. Really.

There's nothing more to say. He and his red Prada shoes rock hard.

All of you anti-Catholic types can just eat your heart out.

Dude! Are men allowed to be that hot????

Apparently, he's the Pope's personal secretary. (I won't repeat the other rumors about what else he is to the Pope...apparently begun not only because of his striking good looks, but the fact that the Pope likes to wear red Prada shoes...)

I am now, officially, Catholic.

Confirmation was last night, at the Easter Vigil, and was a Big Deal (tm). I haven't said a lot about it, but I've been working toward confirmation for about six months now, and working is a good word: it was a minimum commitment of 2 1/2 hours per Sunday, and it was usually more than that - with retreats, trips to the Cathedral, etc. thrown in throughout the year. I also had to track down my baptismal certificate from a woman in a tiny Texas town, find a sponsor, go to confession, etc., etc. So, it was work.

But the service was worth it. Mike came; he was the only one of my close friends who could make it - Jay had a death in the family and A. and D. were house-hunting to the tune of 15 houses in one day. (!) There were six of us who were getting baptized and/or confirmed, and there was a lot of excitement. We all had to pick a patron saint and take their name. (Mine was Nicholas von Flue, also known as Brother Klaus - the patron saint of Switzerland. I feminized his name to Nicola, so that's my new name.)

My sponsor gave me a gold cross, and one of other candidates' godfather - a young near-priest named James who sang the gregorian chants for the service - blessed it for me. When I was declared a catholic, I looked at the back of the church where Mike was, and he gave me a thumbs up. :) Then I got to take communion for the first time.

All in all, it was a good experience and I'm happy I did it. I have 'felt Catholic' for most of my adult life, and nothing else I tried ever connected in that deep place for me.

I'm where I should be...