Stalker is forever amazed at some of the weird and whacky things that the net throws up. Stalker never knew that there was a place in the Vatican called The Mushroom, in Italiano it’s called the Fungo.
Basilian Father Thomas Rosica is the Vatican's English-language press attaché for the 2008 world Synod of Bishops, and he writes in an article for Zenit about looking inside the "Synodal Nerve Centre".:
"We were then told to report to "the Fungo" -- the mushroom. I am more familiar with "fungo" in its plural form: "funghi" in relation to tagliatelle ai funghi porcini (a great pasta dish) or pizza margherita con funghi. But now we were being sent to the Vatican mushroom! We were told it is located behind the audience hall and the synod hall within Vatican City. This was a part of Vatican City State unknown to each of us, except to Monsignor Giorgio who is an old hand at synods!
Climbing the back stairs of Paul VI Hall, we passed through several "restricted" doors and entered a remarkable, makeshift beehive of activity. Supervised by Dutchman Vik Van Brategem, assistant of the Holy See Press Office, and notorious for his shepherding of the Vatican press corps on papal visits, I was amazed at the scene inside this giant "mushroom." Over 40 young adults, from many different nations, diligently working in linguistic groups at computer monitors -- overseeing the translations of all synodal press releases and documents.
I marveled at the order, calm, seriousness and professionalism of the entire environment, and was told that the international group even broke for prayers several times during the day. For me it was heartening, encouraging and inspiring to witness so many young adults hard at work in the nerve centre of the Synod of Bishops, giving flesh, meaning and consistency to the many words that will be spoken, and proving that even synods are young-adult friendly!
By the way, it is called "fungo" because of the large, modern concrete structure built in the parking area, meant to protect the Pope and special visitors from inclement weather as they enter the audience hall for large gatherings. The large concrete structure is in the form of a giant mushroom, ever modern and ever new, seemingly out of place amid the historical relics and remnants of Vatican City."
By the by, Zenit is a news agency specializing in coverage of the Holy Father, life in the Holy See, and events of interest to the Church - Stalker never knew such a news agency existed either. You live and you learn.
