Rome -- The Final Day

On Tuesday, 17 Sept 2013, after morning prayer, Mass at St Ambrose and Charles, and breakfast I headed for Piazza della Rotondo to find a church or two I had seen, but hadn't prayed in.

The first was near Piazza della Rotondo and is the church Santa Maria Maddalena.

Facade

Main Altar

Side Altar

Another Side Altar

 

 

From there, I went in search of the church of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order.  It was nearby, but not on this street.

 

I happened upon the row of columns shown below.

 

Columns

I found these on google maps and they are labeled as the Temple of Hadrian.

I was having some difficulty finding the church of St Ignatius Loyola, so I asked a passerby in my best Italian where it was.  We had some difficulty communicating, and at one point he thought I was asking about "The Jesu."  But finally he gave me some guidance, and then I found a sign on a street corner pointing toward it.

Church of St Francis Xavier

 

Before I reached the church of St Ignatius Loyola, I passed the church of St Francis Xavier, one of Ignatius' earliest followers, and a missionary.  As you can see in the picture above there was a cord across the entrance indicating that you shouldn't go in.  So I just snapped this picture.

 

Less than a block west of the church of St Francis Xavier, was the church of St Ignatius Loyola.

 

 

 

 

St Ignatius Loyola -- facade

Main Altar

Side Altar

Side Altar

Ceiling

 

With my last picture or so, my camera started showing a battery limitation.  So I have no more pictures.

From the church of St Ignatius, I went to the Piazza Navona and the church of St Agnes in agony.  It was very lovely inside, with some soft music playing.  There were side altars to St Agnes, who was burned alive, and St Sebastian, who was martyred by arrow shots.

I stayed there for while, long enough to pray the rosary.  Then I proceeded to the Vatican Museum.  The line to get into the museum wrapped around a couple of turns of the City Walls of Vatican City, for about a quarter of a mile.

Since I had bought a ticket with an appointed time through my hotel, I was able to skip the line, and go to the ticket counter.

Not only were there a ton of people in line to enter the museum, but the museum was already crowded.  I got an audio guide, which came with a map.  Some parts of the museum were not crowded, other areas had great crowds and tour groups with a guide speaking various languages. 

As I got closer to the Sistine Chapel, the crowds increased in density.  I was jostled by people hurrying past me to get to the Chapel earlier.  Even old people were jostling and bumping me to get ahead.

In the chapel there was a block of people in the center area, and some passageways around them.  The guards encouraged us to keep moving and go through the passageways.  I was able to move into the block of people in the middle, when some people there left.

There were people taking pictures in the Chapel and the guards kept saying "no pictures," and "quiet please."  There was a low murmuring going on from everywhere in the chapel.

I was able to spend several minutes just standing and looking.  First at the ceiling, then at the Last Judgement, behind the main altar.  Additionally, there were frescoes along both walls.

After the Sistine Chapel, I went to the Pinacoteca, which housed many fine paintings.  That is where Raphael's Transfiguration is displayed.  Unlike most of the rest of the museum there were some chairs in the Pinacoteca, so you could sit down and spend some time looking at the works of art. 

When I emerged from the museum, I was exhausted and hungry.  My tour had taken three and half hours, and I had eaten no lunch.

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig:

On Wednesday, 18 Sept 2013, I was unable to be at Mass again, because my ride to the Airport was coming at 7 AM, (1 AM Ohio time).  My sister and brother-in-law met me at the airport at around 9:30 PM that same day.  A very long trip home.

I was particularly glad to be at Mass, in English, at 7:15 AM on Thursday morning.

San Francesco -- Open your "New Gate"

Monday,  16 Sept 2013, was different from my other days in Rome.  A bus came to pick me up at 7 AM, for a daylong tour of Assisi and Orvieto, of which I had never heard.  I returned to my hotel after 8:30 PM, and consequently could not be at Mass that day.

When I got on the little bus to go to the tour starting point, there were three young women on the bus already.  They had been in Piazza San Pietro yesterday in the rain for the Angelus, when I was.  Today they were going to Pompei.  Three other young women got on the little bus at another stop.  They had been to Pompei yesterday, and were on the same tour to Assisi as me.

It took quite a while to get to Orvieto by tour bus.  When we arrived, our tour group rode the train car up the side of the hill to the bus stop in Orvieto.

Train car we rode up the incline to Orvieto

View out the front of the train car

Facade of the Cathedral at Orvieto

 Cathedral at Orvieto shows facade and side.

At the top of the rail, we took a city bus to a stop in front of the Cathedral of Orvieto.  The facade was very ornate.  There was a fee to enter the Cathedral.  There had been no fee in any of the churches I entered in Rome.  The inside of the Cathedral was very much like the left side which you can see above, with alternating layers of dark and gray stones.  There were two side chapels inside.  The one I remember was ornate and displayed a corporal that was involved in a Eucharistic Miracle in the middle ages.  The details of the miracle evade me.

Orvieto had been an Etruscan city that was destroyed by the Romans in the 3rd century BC.  It wasn't rebuilt for several centuries.  It sits on the top of a plateau hence the train car ride up the side. 

Street in Orvieto

I had the opportunity to wander the streets of Orvieto for a while.  There were many pedestrians.  In the picture above you can see a row  of arches.  These are at the side of the church of St Andrew.  It has a very nice wooden sculpture of St Andrew.

View from the top of the train car stop

Second View from the top of the train car stop

When we got back to the bus stop at the top of the train car ride, we had a few minutes to wait for our guide, and I got a couple of pictures of the countryside around Orvieto.

After lunch we continued to Assisi.  We entered Assisi walking through the "new gate", which did not exist at the time of St Francis.  It was built around 1300 AD.

The New Gate to Assisi.  Built circa 1300 AD.

Street in Assisi

Gate to Assisi at time of St Francis

Church of St Clare

Our first stop was at the church of St Clare.  Her body is entombed here.  You can see the Flying Buttresses on the left side of the church.  St Francis was initially buried in this church, while they built the Basilica on the other side of the city, where he is currently entombed.

View from Assisi

View from Assisi

Where St Francis was imprisoned by his parents

Fountain in town square -- Assisi

Basilica of St Francis

The Basilica of St Francis is two churches on top of each other.

The upper one had frescoes of the life of St Francis.  St Francis is entombed beneath the altar in the lower one.  There is a chapel beneath the lower church for prayer at the tomb of St Francis.

Most interesting to me were two chapels in the lower church.  The first was a chapel to the Immaculate Conception.  I grew up in the Parish of Immaculate Conception, and attended Immaculate Conception School.

Additionally, I lived for 29 years in the Diocese of Syracuse NY, whose Cathedral is the Immaculate Conception.  Further, the Basilica in Washington DC is the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which has a beautiful blue dome you can see from miles away on the Metro.

Even more significantly, there is a chapel to St Martin of Tours adjacent to the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. 



Field in front of Basilica of St Francis

Tau Cross and Peace in Latin

View of the exit from Basilica.

Papal Mass on Feast of St Francis

held in the area on the right.

In Assisi I prayed in four churches, one of which had two churches, one on top of the other and two chapels that had great significance for me.  In Orvieto, I prayed in two churches. A good day.

Sunday, Sunday

After breakfast on Sunday, 15 Sept 2013, I checked with the front desk of my hotel to verify that the pope would pray the Angelus at noon in the piazza.  They told me that the pope would be saying the 10:30 AM Mass at St Peter's!

I hurried over to St Peter's, and asked one of the guards in the Piazza if the pope was saying the Mass in the Piazza, or in the Basilica.  He said in the Basilica, so I got into the line for the security checkpoint.  It stretched across the piazza to the end of the southern arm of the colonnade. 

When I got into the Basilica, everything seemed like the other days I had been there.  The number of people was about the same, the main altar was not adorned with candles, tourists were wandering about, chairs had not been set up in the nave. 

The Mass was to be at the altar of the Chair of St Peter.  I passed through the opening in the barrier, which was manned by a couple of guards, who wanted to know if you were going to the Mass.

There were some extra seats arranged in the area of the altar of the Chair, and most of the pews and the seats were already filled.

When the bell tolled, and everybody rose, the priests processed in.  There were about fifty priests who were concelebrating the Mass, half a dozen bishops, and three Cardinals.  Pope Francis was not there.

After Mass which ended at 11:45, many people, including me, went toward the exit of the Basilica, so we could be in the Piazza for the Angelus at noon.  However, it was raining pretty hard outside, and some people started clogging up the sides of the exit because they didn't want to go out in the rain, but wanted to be in the doorway.

Just outside the Basilica you could see the window that the pope appears at, but not very well, and at a severe angle, the only way to go was toward the exit and down along the one side of the piazza.
The piazza was packed with pilgrims, everyone holding up an umbrella, with the rain pouring down on us.

When the pope came to the window, you could see him, but hearing him was problematic with the rain and the crowd noise.  His image was projected onto the Jumbotrons, so you could see him clearly.  When we prayed the Angelus, it was in Italian, but I prayed it in English.

Afterwards, I proceeded down the colonnade toward the Church of the Holy Spirit in the hope of finding it open this time.  The colonnade was jam packed with pilgrims trying to stay out of the rain.

The Church of the Holy Spirit was open, and I was able to go in and pray.  There was a Mass that began soon after I found a place in the pews.

Afterwards, I found a cafe with outdoor seating for lunch, fortunately the rain had pretty much stopped by then, because the indoor seating was very limited and it was all in use.  As I was finishing my lunch, and the other tables outside were filling up, the rain began again, but not nearly so heavily, and only for a short while.

I wandered as I made my way back to my hotel, and came upon the fountain seen below.

Fontanna della Piazza dei Quiriti

Fontanna della Piazza dei Quiriti

 

 

Near the Piazza was a church that I had to look up on google maps to find out its' name.   That's how I found the name of the fountain and plaza above too.

Casa Santa Luisa -- upper view

Casa Santa Luisa -- lower view

In the last picture you can see a homeless guy inside the fence around the church's entrance.  The shield to the right of the main entrance, between the doors, is the coat of arms for pope Francis.

Lift High the Cross

Saturday, 14 Sept 2013, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and Yom Kippur.

Following Mass at St Ambrose and Charles, morning prayer and breakfast, I headed to the Flaminia Metro Stop to go to Saint John Lateran, and the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.

Between Saint John Lateran, and the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem is a park that runs along the wall of ancient Rome.

Park near wall of ancient Rome

Buildings near Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem

 

I took the picture seen above because of the dogs who were with their masters, but off their leashes between the church and the park.    During my time in Rome, I saw some homeless people, sleeping beside some buildings on the sidewalk some mornings.  They had their dogs with them.  In one Coffee bar, I saw a woman bring her dog into the bar and keep it with her while she drank her cup of espresso.  It did not appear to be a "service" dog.

 

Facade of the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem

Apse of the Church

Higher view of the apse of the Church

of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.

At the left edge of the pictures above you can see the canopy over the main altar.  On the wall, you can see a painting depicting the finding of the Holy Cross.   There are a couple of chapels in the church.  One is for Eucharistic Adoration.  Another houses segments of wood from the Holy Cross.  This chapel has a presence candle.  Attached to the chapel is another room with a facsimile of the shroud of Turin.

St John Lateran

St John Lateran was the home to the popes for many centuries.  After the popes' return from Avignon, they moved their home to the Vatican.

St John Lateran -- facade

St John Lateran -- Tomb

St John Lateran -- apse

St John Lateran -- side altar

The Knights of the Holy Sepulcher were at St John's when I arrived.  They did not have a Mass scheduled, but a prayer service with a musical presentation by two female choirs.  There were three Cardinals in attendance. 

I prayed with the knights, and read some of "Lumen Fidei" during the musical presentation.  The daily Masses were suspended during the prayer service and musical presentation.

The concert ended about 11:45, and a Mass of the day was scheduled at noon in a side chapel (not the one pictured above).  The Mass including the readings and homily were in Italian.

 

 

St John Lateran -- Nave

This picture shows the nave of the Basilica. You can see the canopy over the altar, and part of the apse.  The chairs you see arranged were for the prayer service with concert.  They had been filled.  Along the left side you can see the statues of some of the Twelve, and you can see the ceiling.

Statue of St Paul

 

For each of the Twelve there is a statue with a relief above it, and an oval painting above that.  For St Paul the relief is the crucifixion, and the painting is of Jeremiah.

Statue of St Peter

 

For St Peter the painting is of Isaiah, and the relief looks like the expulsion from the garden of Eden.

 

Statue of St Batholomew

From St John Lateran I walked toward St Mary Major.  It was less than a mile down the Via Merulana.  Along they way I stopped for a panini and bottle of water, and happened upon the church of St Alphonsus.

St Alphonsus main altar

St Alphonsus side altar

St Alphonsus nave

 

 

I was surprised that the Church of St Alphonsus was open because it seemed as though most churches, other than the basilicas were closed during the afternoon.  So I prayed there for while (longer than my visits to other churches), before continuing to St Mary Major.  The next Mass at St Mary Major was at 6 PM, so after praying some of the rosary there, I walked over to St Martin on the Mountain.

 

It was closed, but would reopen at 4PM.  I walked over to St Peter Vincola, which was also closed, but would reopen at 3PM.  I sat down outside with a few other people, and waited for it to reopen.

 

 

By 3 PM a small crowd had gathered waiting to enter the church.

 

St Peter Vincola -- side altar

 

This is the side altar at St Peter Vincola, where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed.  It has a lovely painting of the Madonna and Child above the altar.

St Peter Vincola -- main altar

 

The main altar of St Peter Vincola is shown above.  You can see the canopy over the altar, the apse, with decorative paintings, and inside the altar the chains.  These are the chains that bound St Peter, and this is why the church is called St Peter Vincola -- St Peter in Chains.

 

 

St Peter Vincola -- Michelangelo's Moses

 

Most of the people who came into the church came to see Michelangelo's Moses which is on the right side near the front of the Church, opposite the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed.

 

I returned to St Martin on the Mountain, shortly after 4 PM.

 

Painting of St Martin of Tours

St Martin on the Mountain -- apse

 

At one side altar, there is a painting of St Martin of Tours, whose Feast Day is the day after my birthday.  It depicts St Martin, while a soldier, cutting his cloak in two to share half with a beggar.

 

 

The main altar is elevated from the nave and you can see the decoration of the apse, and the Marble pillars.



 

Statue of St Martin I, pope

 

Here you can see the decoration above the pillars along the side of the nave.  The statue in the center is of St Martin I, pope and martyr.

Nave of St Martin on the Mountain

 

The picture of the nave shows the Marble pillars and the main altar.  The flowers on the pews are because a wedding was scheduled, and the musicians were warming up.  I tried to stay out of the way of the wedding party.

 

Envy

I returned to Pastarito to get some supper before 5 PM, because the Mass at St Mary Major was at 6 PM.  They seated me at a table in the window, next to a young woman eating alone.  She was eating pizza with zucchini on it.  As we chatted she told me that she had just arrived in Rome that day, and had already seen the pope.  I was envious because I had been in Rome since Tuesday and hadn't seen him yet.

The Mass at St Mary Major, was at the main altar, like the Mass at St Paul's the other day.  It was in Italian, with the readings and homily in Italian as well.  I caught enough of the homily to know the priest was emphasizing the primacy of mercy.  He was impassioned and animated during his homily, I regretted my poor understanding of the language.

After Mass I walked back to my hotel, passing by the Spanish Steps.  They were crowded.

Spanish Steps Saturday evening

Here you can see the people all over the steps, an obelisk at the top of the steps, and the church of Triniti di Monti above the steps.  Not only were the steps crowded, but the piazza was filled with people, and the street toward the Tiber was closed to automobiles, and was packed with people walking and shopping, and hanging around.  Near the Church of the Holy Trinity the crowd thinned out, and traffic was permitted again.