Today was a day of pilgrimage to the Papal Basilicas throughout Rome. We started with a brief Metro ride (we are modern pilgrims) to the Via Ostiense to the place of St. Paul’s martyrdom and tomb. The Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls is always a special place, but especially so during this special year dedicated to the honor of St. Paul (which ends in a couple of weeks). So we were blessed to make it under the wire (with regards to the indulgence connected to this particular pilgrimage (and those of you who know me know how important those things are to me ;) ). The Holy Door opened for the year of St. Paul is still open and we wandered through it.
Among the features unique to this basilica are the series of medallions commemorating all the Bishops of Rome from Peter to Ben15. When I was here in 2005, Pope Benedict had just been elected and there were few images of him in evidence around the city. Now they are everywhere – including among the medallions at SPOtW. [You can see Pope Benedict's medallion to the right of this massive statue of St. Paul in this photo.] Filip pointed out that there were only 5 more medallions left – room for only 5 more Popes and the world has to come to an end. (Hmmm…does this mean that there are going to be 5 more popes between now and December 21, 2012?) [And if you have no idea what that means, Google that date…]
We arrived at St. Pauls just as a Mass was beginning and we attended. The Mass and preaching were in Italian, but I was, in a miracle of Pentecost, able to understand virtually every word. The priest, preaching on the story of Tobit, said that the story was an apologetic against ancient superstitions. Tobias, accompanied by the powers of St. Raphael the Archangel [oh yeah – congratulations to Fr. Raphael Salzillo on his ordination to the priesthood!] is able to cure Tobit’s blindnesss using the healing properties found in fish liver oil. Medicine, under the guidance of a healing angel, is how people are cured, not superstitious practices. Good message for a group of people who were perhaps about to wan
der through a particular door in hopes that it would get them a get out hell free card… And I think that was his message – don’t depend on superstitious practices, depend on the grace of God.’
We had lunch at another important pilgrimage shrine: McDonald’s. Go ahead and laugh – this country eats a lot of carbs. Hamburgers have much needed protein!
After lunch we took the metro to Termini and walked a couple blocks to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore: the oldest Church in Christendom dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here there is a relic of the manger of Jesus – encased n gold and silver – under the high altar. Dominicans have two special connections to this Church: we have been the ministers in this pilgrimage site for centuries and our famou
s Pope, Pius V, is buried there. I was not able to get into the chapel of St. Pius because it was locked – I will go back at time of a daily mass and be able to get in. It is only a few short blocks from the Angelicum, where I am staying.
Next, we walked (like more traditional pilgrims) to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John’s on the Lateran Hill), the Pope’s church as Bishop of the City and diocese of Rome. Some interesting facts – This Church is officially dedicated as “Holy Savior," but has two patrons: Ss John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. It was the site of numerous ecumenical councils (hence “Lateran Councils") during the middle ages. It was the official residence of the Popes throughout most of the Church’s history. The Vatican has only been the official residence of he Pope since 1929. The three basilicas we visited today that are not part of the Vatican ARE part of the Vatican. That is, they are officially territories of the Vatican City State – Little Vatican Islands in the vast sea that is Rome.
One of my favorite features of this Basilica is how light it is. Compared to the cavern-like nature of the other basilicas, this one is flooded with light all day every day. I also love the much-larger-than-life sculptures of the Apostles that line the nave. See the photo of me beneath the
statue of St. Bart for scale. St. Paul’s Basilica also has such statues, but these are much lighter and more animated than those at St. Paul’s. We also went into the beautiful cloister of San Giovanni.
At this Church, I stopped to pray some special prayers for Sr Diane, whose brother just died, for Megan Stull, who’s mom was just diagnosed with another round of cancer, and for my uncle Laddie, who died right before I left the States.
Finally, we boarded the Metro and headed for the Vatican for the last and biggest of the Papal Basilica’s and one of the most interesting and inspiring events of my life. More on that in the next post.
Among the features unique to this basilica are the series of medallions commemorating all the Bishops of Rome from Peter to Ben15. When I was here in 2005, Pope Benedict had just been elected and there were few images of him in evidence around the city. Now they are everywhere – including among the medallions at SPOtW. [You can see Pope Benedict's medallion to the right of this massive statue of St. Paul in this photo.] Filip pointed out that there were only 5 more medallions left – room for only 5 more Popes and the world has to come to an end. (Hmmm…does this mean that there are going to be 5 more popes between now and December 21, 2012?) [And if you have no idea what that means, Google that date…]We arrived at St. Pauls just as a Mass was beginning and we attended. The Mass and preaching were in Italian, but I was, in a miracle of Pentecost, able to understand virtually every word. The priest, preaching on the story of Tobit, said that the story was an apologetic against ancient superstitions. Tobias, accompanied by the powers of St. Raphael the Archangel [oh yeah – congratulations to Fr. Raphael Salzillo on his ordination to the priesthood!] is able to cure Tobit’s blindnesss using the healing properties found in fish liver oil. Medicine, under the guidance of a healing angel, is how people are cured, not superstitious practices. Good message for a group of people who were perhaps about to wan
der through a particular door in hopes that it would get them a get out hell free card… And I think that was his message – don’t depend on superstitious practices, depend on the grace of God.’We had lunch at another important pilgrimage shrine: McDonald’s. Go ahead and laugh – this country eats a lot of carbs. Hamburgers have much needed protein!
After lunch we took the metro to Termini and walked a couple blocks to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore: the oldest Church in Christendom dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here there is a relic of the manger of Jesus – encased n gold and silver – under the high altar. Dominicans have two special connections to this Church: we have been the ministers in this pilgrimage site for centuries and our famou
s Pope, Pius V, is buried there. I was not able to get into the chapel of St. Pius because it was locked – I will go back at time of a daily mass and be able to get in. It is only a few short blocks from the Angelicum, where I am staying.Next, we walked (like more traditional pilgrims) to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John’s on the Lateran Hill), the Pope’s church as Bishop of the City and diocese of Rome. Some interesting facts – This Church is officially dedicated as “Holy Savior," but has two patrons: Ss John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. It was the site of numerous ecumenical councils (hence “Lateran Councils") during the middle ages. It was the official residence of the Popes throughout most of the Church’s history. The Vatican has only been the official residence of he Pope since 1929. The three basilicas we visited today that are not part of the Vatican ARE part of the Vatican. That is, they are officially territories of the Vatican City State – Little Vatican Islands in the vast sea that is Rome.
One of my favorite features of this Basilica is how light it is. Compared to the cavern-like nature of the other basilicas, this one is flooded with light all day every day. I also love the much-larger-than-life sculptures of the Apostles that line the nave. See the photo of me beneath the
statue of St. Bart for scale. St. Paul’s Basilica also has such statues, but these are much lighter and more animated than those at St. Paul’s. We also went into the beautiful cloister of San Giovanni.At this Church, I stopped to pray some special prayers for Sr Diane, whose brother just died, for Megan Stull, who’s mom was just diagnosed with another round of cancer, and for my uncle Laddie, who died right before I left the States.
Finally, we boarded the Metro and headed for the Vatican for the last and biggest of the Papal Basilica’s and one of the most interesting and inspiring events of my life. More on that in the next post.
Did you say medallions of Bishops through Ben15?
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean through Ben16? Benedict the 15th was pope from 1914 - 1922.