Day 7- "Pictures with the sisters!"

Today was the best morning ever—we finally got to sleep in! It was exactly what we needed, after a full week of early mornings and late nights. Gave us all plenty of time to recharge.

After meeting everyone in the lounge for coffee, I went for a walk into town with Frs. Kyle and Frank, Dan, Nick, Chris, and David. We visited the Pantheon first, which was very Romanesque. It was kind of a requirement of us going to Rome in the first place. It used to be a Roman temple, but it’s since been converted into a really nice, old-looking church.

Next, we stopped at a nearby church (the Gesu) where St. Ignatius of Loyola is buried. As with all other Roman churches, it’s beautiful. There’s a huge fresco on the ceiling that was made with the appearance that it’s spilling right out of its gold frame. Really well-done artwork. The church also houses the arm of St. Francis Xavier. Apparently, that’s all of his remains that could easily be brought back from the Holy Land after he was martyred.

Leave it to the Jesuits to make a beautiful shrine to their founder!

I LOVE this fresco. It's just jumping out of the framing... literally.

Once we got back to the house, we had Mass in the main church at the Generalate, where St. Vincent’s incorrupt body is kept in a glass coffin beneath the altar. After Mass, Fr. Frank gave us the long version of the Pallottine story, which was all very interesting. The Pallottines do a lot of really good work within the Church. Apparently, their church has been around for a LONG time and many improvements have been made since St. Vincent took over care of the place. One neat thing they have there is an infant Christ that was used in the original Vatican manger scene at Christmas time. Go Pallottines!

The alter in the Generalate

There's St. Vincent Pallotti. And that's what an incorrupt body looks like.

Fr. Frank in "Teaching Mode"

Giving us some more fun facts about the Pallottines

Ah yes, we're still in the Easter season! Alleluia!

Jesus Christ, FTW!

We had lunch with the community, including a group of the sisters who came for an end-of-the-year celebration. Afterward, we went upstairs to meet the rector general of the Pallottines, which was great. He’s a very pleasant and holy individual, and it was nice to be able to meet the man who offered us such great hospitality.

Us with the sisters, just before Mass

After lunch, we hopped on the bus and took a ride over to St. Paul Outside the Walls, the 4^th and final patriarchal basilica. Most of it was rebuilt within the past 200 years, so it's fairly new for Roman standards. Again, a lot of it was burned down back in the day and, coincidentally, the fire stopped at St. Paul's tomb. Yeah, that''s right. St. Paul, the persecutor turned evangelist, is buried there. Just one more saint to add to the list of tombs we prayed in front of... what a week!

The basilica itself is really nice; I liked it a lot mostly for the cool courtyard in the front (with a huge statue of St. Paul) and the fact that it was actually quiet enough to pray in peace. Since it's "outside the walls" of Rome, it's off the beaten path for non-pilgrim tourists. Thus, the folks who were actually visiting were there for religious reasons. For the win!

Giant statue of St. Paul

San Paolo, defending Christ's Church

The Holy Door, opened only on Jubilee Years

Another neat feature here are the mosaics. The most obvious is the Popes. Each pope, from Peter all the way to Benedict XVI, has a circular mosaic portrait somewhere along the top of the wall. Additionally, there's a beautiful (and very old) gilded mosaic in the very back that has Jesus, the Apostles, and St. Paul. It's kind of eastern-styled, which adds something a little unique to this church.

The chains that bound St. Paul

Matt, stopping for a prayer in the St. Benedict shrine

Jesus and the posse, in all their gilded glory!

St. Paul's also has a great gift shop and cafe. They're fairly new and sit atop some excavations, which have revealed some of the original foundations and such from the old basilica. The cute baristas made an excellent cappuccino and pie. And the gift shop was like a college pilgrim's gift shop Holy of Holies... among various books and religious items, there was a whole wall of booze and candy made by the Franciscan and Benedictine monks/abbots who live in the monastery attached to the basilica. We purchased some absynth to try out later on...

Excavations of the original basilica

We headed back to the house by way of the Circus Maximus. Check off another ancient Roman must-see! That's the great thing about Rome... everywhere you go, there are ruins and churches. It's a great combination of holiness and rich history. Love it!

Yeah, that's right. THE Circus Maximus!

We also stopped into a smaller (and very old) church that appeared to be run by the Byzantine Rite called Santa Maria in Consmedin. Outside the church is La Bocca della Verità (the Mouth of Truth). The legend is that, if you stick your hand in the Mouth and you're a liar, it will bite off your hand. Lovely thought, no?

The Byzantine church where Emperor Hadrian is buried

The outside... the Mouth is behind the gate on the left side

Dinner wasn't the BEST of all week, but it was still excellent. We went to a place near the Compo de Fiori and met up with Chris Seith, the youngest of the UMD alumni and DC seminarians studying at the NAC. We had a great time, as always, sharing a delicious Italian meal. As our custom seemed to have become, we stopped for gelato on the way home.

Another church. No idea of the name, but it's near the Compo de Fiori. And it's known for its mosaics.

The mosaics are even beautiful on the outside!

Don't ask. I don't know.

See? Mosaics all over the place!

Yet another glorious day in Rome. Tomorrow is our last day, and we'll be going to Mass at St. Peter's, followed by the Angelus with Papa Benny and afternoon/evening shenanigans.