Mass in the Grotto

We started today with mass at the grotto of St. Peter. Let me explain. When Peter was executed at the Circus of Nero, his body was buried on the Vatican Hill. The area around his body was turned into a cemetery about 20-30 years after his death. When that happened, the Christians in Rome built a smallish tomb called the Trophy of Gaius, because a Roman theologian named Gaius described it in the late 100's.  The Constantinian basilica build its high altar over the Trophy and filled in the necropolis (as well as cutting off a good chunk of the Vatican Hill).  The Constantinian basilica was itself destroyed to make room for the current St. Peter's, but the high altar was kept in the same spot. The area under the basilica was vaulted and used to bury people, where when they dug to bury Pius XI they found one of the pagan tombs and dug all around, actually digging into the trophy through a side tunnel and finding the body of St. Peter.  All of this can be learned on a scavi tour.

Map from Wikipedia, 8 is where we had mass.

We had mass today in the grotto where everyone is buried, which faces the eastern upper wall of the Trophy, which is what the stairs in front of St. Peter's high altar lead down to and is covered with an mosaic icon of Christ that is really old.  There is another, in my opinion, nicer altar on the west side built by Pius XII which has a view of the uncovered wall of the west side of the Trophy, but that is too small to accommodate our group (the other altar is also directly opposite the tomb of Pius XII (doing excavations gets you a nice location for your tomb).  You see all four sides on a scavi tour.  We were not supposed to take photos in the grotto, but my class mates did, so check the official blog for photos.

I did take a photo of Benedict XV, who is technically just

 past the no photo sign.  The rest of the area look like this.

I cannot believe I got this far without posting a picture of the Pieta

From there we went to the outskirts of Rome (seriously the bus and metro took almost an hour without the connections) to meet with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For those of you from the Archdiocese, they are the African sisters who wear the bright blue habits who work at Sharing and Caring Hands.  They are great and really hammered home that they only want to see joyful priests in a mostly un-Midwestern directness.

In the afternoon, I wrote my final paper and started packing so I can trek down to one last church tomorrow before we leave for Assisi (Saint Bartholomew on Tiber Island).  While there I will be on retreat, and will be praying for you all.  There will be one or two more blog post when we get back from Assisi next Tuesday, but thank you for following my blog.

St Paul's and St. Peter's

As expected our morning at St, Paul's outside the Walls was very quiet. It was not as low key as I expected. We had mass with Cardinal Harvey, who is in charge of the basilica, and was head of the Papal household for Pope Benedict and for the last seven years of Pope St. John Paul.  His homily was great.  But what really surprised me is that he invited us out for coffee and just spent an hour talking with us.  Cardinal Harvey is originally from Wisconsin and he knows all the guys at the NAC who are studying for the North Central region of the US (he probably knows more) and made the connection to us.  It really shows his great humility.

The tomb of St Paul is behind the girlle.

They have my favorite holy water founta

After that, we had a rather somber talk from Father Miranda of the Institute of the Incarnate Word,  He had spent two and a half years of the last three years in Aleppo as it was besieged by Syrian rebel forces. The siege is still ongoing but he had to leave out six months ago because the Institute had sisters there and someone had to escort them out. There are still priests there, and you could see the guilt he feels for not being there even as the situation continues to worsen.  He had a great heart for the people of God.  To be honest, it made me thankful to minister in an area where there has never been a conflict on that scale (yes we had the Dakota wars, but nothing like the situation in Syria).  The only thing I can contextualize the situation to is Sarajevo, and this looks worse (and there are martyrdoms going on in Aleppo).  And yet even in it, the faith endures.

On that bright note, in the early evening we visited our last institution of the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State.  There are two departments there: essentially those who prepare and translate stuff for the Pope and those who work in the diplomatic corps.  Our contact, Monsignor Gallagher,  works on the translator side (he helps prepare the official Latin texts of written documents), but we got to see the door to the Papal apartments where the Pope normally lives and where Francis keeps his office. For some reason we didn't get to tour there, but it was still a good visit.

I think they have the best view except for the Pope.

An afternoon with the Jesuits

I only did four things of note today.  I got an apostolic blessing ordered for my teaching parish, St. Hubert's, because they are celebrating their 150th anniversary. Hopefully it gets to the states and doesn't have any typos.  As a class we then visited the Apostolic Penitentiary.  Despite the imposing name, they are the court that deals with cases in the internal forum and grant faculties to absolve 5 crimes/sins reserved to Holy See (desecration of the Eucharist, breaking the seal of confession, a priest absolving someone he is sleeping with, physical assaulting the pope, and illicitly ordaining a bishop).  It was a good visit and the priest presenter was full of very good advice for dealing with confession.

They also had some seriously nice art.  My personal favorite.

From there we had our last class, and then in the evening we visited the Gesu, the mother house of the Jesuits. The church itself is amazing and has the golden idol type statue of Ignatius I made fun of on Saturday over his tomb. The reason I joke about it is that it's normally covered by a very nice altar piece and then in the evening they reveal it with a light show set to an orchestral mass and quotes of Ignatius. It still is an awesome statute (and church) though.

The unveiling of the statue,

From there we moved into the Gesu's attached building which still include a seminary and the rooms that Ignatius lived in.  We had mass in the room he died in and Deacon Alvaro gave a great homily.  Tomorrow we head to St. Paul's outside the Walls again, and I am really looking forward to a more low key visit.  Then two more days until we go on retreat!

Some of St. Ignatius's furniture.

Last Sunday in Rome

This morning we were free for mass on our own. I went to the church where St. Philip Neri is buried, and it was great because it's one of the few churches in the center of Rome to have what we would think of as active parish life (aka there were actually Italian families with kids there).

A view while walking this morning.

This afternoon was a little more exciting, we went to vespers with the Pope at Saint Paul's outside the Walls.  It is the last of the four Constantine basilicas we needed to visit as a class.  We will be going back, but one of the really cool things about it is that it has mosaics of all the popes.

When we go back we will get a class photo here.

My view from my chair. Turns out if you just keep going

in a cassock they let you into VIP seating (though not the best).

The mosaics of the last two popes.

My one shot of the Pope.  

After vespers and dinner a bunch of us went out for gelato because today is the patronal feast of the Seminary.  Tomorrow we are going to visit one of the Vatican courts and the Jesuits.

Monte Cassino!

Today I went to Monte Cassino and prayed solemn vespers and did laundry at the NAC. I bet you can guess what this post is going to be about.

To my surprise, Monte Cassino is actually on a mountain. I figured because of its history, where Benedict built it upon a temple to Apollo so he could confront the demons, it would be on a nice little hill called a Monte like Orvieto.  No such luck. I also learned you should always, always take the shuttle bus or a taxi up. Since I arrived 40 minutes before the first shuttle, I thought I would walk it. Bad idea, my enthusiasm failed about 2/3rds of the way up and then it was too late so I had almost a two hour trek up. While it was cool walking the old pilgrim trail instead of the very roundabout road, I was having flashbacks to character building camping trips in Montana.

I have an obligation to post mountain pictures since I mentioned the trips.

The monastery itself is only 60 years old because we (America) blew it up in WWII because we didn't believe the Germans when they told us they didn't hid weapons there.  Despite being new, it is amazing (and luckily the tombs of Benedict and Scholastica survived).

So we get a modern take on Baroque

The church itself is absolutely hysterical.  The upper courtyard before you enter is filled with statues of monarchs who were Benedictine oblates, the crypt church around the tombs is covered in marble frieze work of full sized Benedictine Saints. While the Jesuits have a gold and diamond encrusted Ignatius and the Franciscans have the miracles of Francis by Giotto, the Benedictines want you to know what the legacy of Benedict and Scholastic is aka Western civilization and more saints than you (you being anyone else).

An example

Scholastica 

Benedicf 

The aaltar

And just as a disclaimer, if the American Benedictines at Norca are ever given Monte Cassino, that is my sign to defect and join because Monte Cassino is just about my version of perfect.

Not joking about that.

Lateran day two

This morning was spent at the Lateran, which is the Cathedral of the Pope and heart of the Christian world.  It was my favorite site yet, and there is a really complicated history of the place.  We had mass in the chapter house, which was very cool and full of 22 inch high wood statues that I really want copies of.  Sadly the Romans have yet to learn to merchandize well (seriously, no models of these or the 12 apostles found in the nave at the Lateran or the founders of religious orders found in St. Peter).

The Latin outside the main doors.

"The sacred Lateran church of all the churches

 in the city and world mother and head."

One side of the choir in the chapter house

For example, if they had a replica of this St. Paul he would be coming home.

After mass, we explored the rest of the complex, including the baptistery, which was the only baptistery in Rome for over half a millennium.  It is decorated with very nice but wildly inaccurate frescos depicting the conversion and baptism of Constantine.  In them, the pope baptized him and in gratitude Constantine donates Italy to the Pope before going east (Constantine was baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia on his deathbed and the donation document is a famous medieval forgery).  Still was very cool, and elements of it were found and are found in just about every baptismal to this day because it's that iconic.

The heads of Peter and Paul over the Pope's altar

The fount in the baptistery 

Before lunch we had an African missionary priest speak about missions in Africa, which really drove home how broad the Church really is. After lunch, I started working on the final reflection paper for our class and then I visited the Church of the Apostles, which is a very unassuming church down a random side street in Rome that houses the bodies of the Apostles Philip and James (the Lesser, James the brother of John is in Spain).  As I was ordained a deacon on their feast day, I spent quite a while praying there.  I then made my way back, stopping in the Oratorian church where St. Philip Neri is.  Then I and a couple guys made our way back to the NAC and spent the evening hanging out with guys who went to SPS for pre-theology.  

St Peter's on our way to the NAC

Tomorrow, I am bending the rules to head to Monte Cassino alone, but no one else wants to go (Florence and Naples top the agenda list for day trips) and I must see Benedict and Scholastica and this is my last chance.  So if there is no blog update by Monday, sound the alarm!

Steps and Steps

I was surprised this morning. As I said yesterday, we started today by visiting the Roman Seminary, but what I did not realize was that the Roman Seminary is part of the Lateran complex, where we'll be spending tomorrow morning as well.  The Seminary is amazing, and Monsignor joined us for mass in the chapel devoted to our Lady of Confidence.

The good Monsignor turned a 5 inch half portrait 

into a 6 foot full length statue. I am impressed.

After a tour full of funny stories, to commerce Roe v Wade and for our own mini-March for Life, a group of us climbed the Scala Sancta (Sacred Steps), which are the stairs from the Roman praetorium in Jerusalem that Jesus would have walked up to be judged by Pilate. And they really are the steps because I saw the gap where they should have been in Jerusalem last year.  They are covered with wooden planks, and you climb them on your knees.

The Steps

After that, I did a quick whirlwind tour of St. John Lateran.  I saw everything I really wanted to see, including the tomb of Innocent III (though I wasn't sure which Innocent it was at the time), but we will be going back tomorrow.  This afternoon we had a guest speaker from the Congregation for Bishops who talked about how bishops are appointed. Since I will never be a bishop (if they ever try, I just will need to wax poetic about Pope Innocent and how much I love him) and ideally will never be consulted in the process, it will hopefully be fun trivia.  After, we had our second to last class lecture session which was good, but brutal since I was tired and it was 4 in the afternoon Ina very warm conference room.

The facade. I need to save the interior for tomorrow

 because it's the only fun thing we're doing.

Around Rome

The first group activity today was standing in line for the Wednesday audience was held in the Paul VI meeting hall. I did not take any pictures of the Pope because our seats were about halfway back, but it is really cool to see how excited people are to meet the Pope.  I think it's because of who and what he represents, Peter and the promise that God will not abandon his Church. When I see him in person, I just get the sense that here is the fullness of the Church (very appropriate to feel about the Pope), which is funny because it's not really about the man, but the office.  I remember feeling the same way after the conclave before Pope Francis was announced, that the Church was made whole again.

Before the Pope arrived 

But enough of this theological waxing, you want to know what else we did today. After visiting the Roman Minor Seminary, which has become largely a guest house for visiting priests (they still have like 20 guys studying on a special track in the general co-ed high school that is still there) and lunch with Monsignor Callaghan, we were off and wander through some sun showers to Santa Sabina. After a brief detour up the road to the headquarters of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta for a cool trick of looking upon three sovereign states in one shot, we went to Santa Sabine's very impressive gardens. The three country trick works because you can see the Vatican through Italy from the headquarters. The Knights are officially in exile there since Napoleon stole Malta from them (their rule prevents them from fighting Christians making his conquest very one sided) and the British took Malta instead of returning it at the Congress of Vienna.  They issue their own passports and have observer status at the UN, but have only extraterritorial property.

The garden was nice and had orange trees that Dominic brought from Spain (that were bearing fruit)

The view was even better

Santa Sabina is the motherhouse of the Dominican order as well as a very ancient church.  Two Nashville Dominican sisters gave us a tour and we had mass there in Dominic's cell which was remodeled by the Cardinal-Master of the Dominicans in the 16th century to be more impressive.

These doors are 1500 years old and I was really fascinated with them.

From there the sisters took us to the church that houses the Roman virgin martyr they are named for, St. Cecilia, which is special to me because I was baptized in the St. Paul  parish named after her.  Tomorrow we have another full day, I think starting with mass with Monsignor at the Roman College where the image of our Lady of Confidence is housed. Hopefully someone has the music to the hymn in her honor, because I don't remember it.

The actual tomb. Behind the grate is the original sarcophagus.

Mars and dicasteries

We hit the ground running today. This morning we met with both the Congregation  for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Laity.  Both were good, but in order to go from the Congregation on the Quirinal Hill to the Council located in the same complex as the Council for Peace and Justice, we walked across what the field of Mars, which became the major suburb of Rome in the Late Republic and prior to that had been the main military training grounds for Rome. I realized this during our 40 minute walk, so I guess that home schooling unit on Ancient Rome in middle school really paid off.

We passed the Trevi Fountain on our walk. I don't think we're 

going to get to throw coins in it.

After lunch we had a meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It and the Congregation  for the Evangelization of Peoples are the two oldest institutions of the Curia, unless you include the courts in an unbroken chain (though they were modified more).  That was also good, though we didn't get to see their ever so impressive archives. Then we had dinner with Monsignor Callaghan. Tomorrow we are attending the Wednesday audience with Pope Francis!

It is nice to be back in Rome

Rome-Mother and Teacher

Today we traveled back to Rome, and I already miss Florence with its small town feel. Rome is big and smelly and noisy in comparison, so Florence was a great get away to be recharged and ready to tackle the last two weeks(!) of class (normally by this point our trips are in their last leg).  At dinner tonight, Monsignor Callaghan finally made his surprise visit (that we all knew was coming), but it was great to hear how the guys back stateside and in Ireland are doing.

Tomorrow we return to form and I am pondering the logistics of my visit to Monte Cassino on Saturday.  I simply must go or St. John's will probably disown me and I am already on thin ice going to St Thomas, but such are the problems of a transitional deacon in Rome. I know things are much tougher back home, and I have made a point of offering extra prayers for the Archdiocese, so know I am praying for you all even in my comfort.

Some more of Blessed Fra Angelico

Firenze day three

We started our last full day in Florence by attending high mass at the Duomo. The canons were there and it was impressive though very sparsely attended. We then did a loop around the southern edge of town.  It was great because it's very natural and felt like a fall day on the Mississippi River road. If you ever go to Florence you must go out of your way to go to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The view is simply stunning.

After admiring the view for a good whilie and a leisurely stroll down through rose gardens that only had a few blooms (in January, how very not disappointing), we found a place for a very large Italian three course lunch. Because my cold is still acting up I came back to our residence, Casa Santo Nome di Gesu, and participated in the Italian custom of riposo. After the nap, we went to the Church of Santo Spirtu, which is home to the only undisputed crucifix by Michelangelo.  Per usual, stunning. The church itself is rather plain on the outside, but the inside is phenomenal.  If I ever get to build a church, I am so modeling it off this one (minus most of the side chapels, there are dozens).  Tomorrow we plan on visiting the tombs of the Medici in San Lorenzo and then heading back to Rome.

The order, the symmetry, the relative simplicity until you get to the altar...

Firenze day two

Day two in Florence has also been awesome. We started by visiting Santa Croce , which is kinda the Florentine Westminster Abbey, since it is full of monuments, like the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.  The most impressive is the memorial to Dante, but he's buried in Ravenna.  Since we were there officially to pray, I did not take interior pictures. From there we returned to the Cathedral and did the tourist walk.  

We also visited two more museums  today, San Marco and the Accademia. San Marco was a Dominican monastery but the brothers there got kicked out twice(!) because Blessed Fra Angelico did the frescos in the cells and the public areas.  They are amazing and you can see literally see his life of prayer manifested in his art.

A few of the frescos 

Just down the street from San Marco is the Accademia.  It houses so many late Gothic early Renaissance religious masterpieces that you practically go numb, though at the end of the gallery is my personal favorite, John the Evangelist crushing the vices (sadly my photo is blurry).  And it also houses Michelangelo's David.  Everything else famous has been pretty much the way I expected it to look.  David is beyond my expectations.  He really is a masterpiece.  Tomorrow we have the entire city south of the Arno to do so we should be really busy.

Just on of the many