Day #50: ROME, Day 3

My friend Colin praying in front of the Arch of Constantine

For our third day in Rome, we had a tour of Ancient Rome in the morning, some free time during which I went on the Scavi Tour, which takes you beneath St. Peter's Basilica to see the original tomb of St. Peter and the remains of an ancient cemetery over which St. Peter's was built according to the orders of Emperor Constantine, and to complete the day we had Mass at St. Paul's Outside the Wall's.

For our tour of Ancient Rome, we began with the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, and the Roman Forum, then made our way to St. Clement's, this ancient church which has been the site of three churches, each built on the top of the other. We could go under the church where excavations have been done to see the original structure of the first and second churches. Both of these churches were discovered by Dominican archaeologists, so there was a little side altar to the Dominicans. The actual church currently standing (above ground, anyway) was a Roman church. It was neat to see how it was built, with the altar and the choir stalls completely separate from the faithful, on a walled platform reached by a gate. There was a canopy over the altar. There were two ambos, one facing out and the other facing towards the priest. The first was for the epistle and the second was for the Gospel. The apse was decorated with a beautiful mosaic. One of the people depicted in the mosaic had a square behind his head instead of a halo - this indicated that he was still alive when the apse was made.

The chains of St. Peter

We then made our way to the Church of Peter In Chains, which houses the chains of St. Peter, just as the title indicates (amazing, huh? ;-) ). This church also contains the tomb built by Michelangelo and commissioned by Pope Julius II. This tomb includes the famous statue of Moses. Apparently when Michelangelo finished carving the statue, he brought his hammer down on Moses' knee and told him to speak, he was so pleased with his work.

The Moses of Michelangelo

Our next destination was St. Mary Major's Basilica, which I remembered from my last visit to Rome. The church was built there after a miraculous snow fall in the middle of August at the spot where our Blessed Lady desired that a church be built in her honor. She had announced this desire in a dream to the pope and to the donors of the basilica. St. Mary Major's is one of the four major basilicas in Rome: St. Peter's Basilica, St. Paul's Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major's and St. John Lateran. St. Mary Major's Basilica is a Roman church and contains somewhere within its walls (nobody knows where) the remains of St. Jerome, which is my grandfather's patron and my younger brother's middle name. Also located here are the remains of St. Matthew.  I didn't remember seeing the manger of the Infant Jesus there, which is housed in a crypt beneath the main altar, so I was glad to return and see that. Fr. Thomas, a Franciscan friar who teaches at Cambridge, came and gave a lecture on our Rome and Assisi pilgrimage. During the lecture he spoke of the contradictions of Rome and St. Francis, and among them he spoke of St. Mary Major's: how a couple pieces of worm-eaten wood are enshrined in a beautiful gold container: a paradox. He told us not to wonder whether or not this was the real wood upon which the divine infant was laid. It doesn't matter. It is the manger. He also spoke of the ceiling of the church, which is gilt with gold from the Indians of South America enslaved by the Spaniards. This gold was purchased at the price of blood, and yet it adorns a church. Another paradox. Rome itself is a paradox, full of noise, congested streets, dirty, smelly, yet it is the heart of the Catholic Church. Peace and unity amidst chaos.

Wood from the Manger of the Infant Jesus

A statue of Our Lady from St. Mary Major's

The tour finished with the Basilica of St. Prassede, which houses a piece of the column to which Christ was tied during the scourging. This was another site I was familiar with from my previous visit. It was good to see it again and to pray before the pillar. Part of the church which I had not seen before that I did appreciate this time around was a Dominican side chapel with an image of Our Lady of the Rosary, handing the rosary to St.s Dominic and Catherine.

The Dominican side chapel

At the conclusion of the tour, I went back to St. Peter's Square for another tour: the Scavi Tour. The Scavi Tour took us beneath St. Peter's Basilica. You see, St. Peter's was originally built outside of Rome over a Roman cemetery - during the ancient Roman Empire, the dead (rich and poor, noble and common) were all buried outside of the city. St. Peter's grave was among the dead. When Constantine came into power he wished to build a basilica above his tomb, and so he filled in the gaps between the mausoleums and the tombs to make it level, made a special place for St. Peter's tomb, and built St. Peter's over it. The tour took us down underneath to see some of the pagan tombs and the tomb of St. Peter's. There were also a private chapel underneath near St. Peter's grave. Apparently Fr. Corapi said his first Mass in this chapel.
Then it was onward to St. Paul's Outside the Walls for Mass, yet another site I had visited during my pilgrimage in 2003. This church, like St. Mary Major's, is built in the Roman style. It houses the tomb of St. Paul and St. Paul's chains. This church was subject to several disasters over the years, so what we say today although it maintains the original design is not the original material. For example, there was an explosion at one point which destroyed all of the windows, so the Egyptians donated alabaster to the church for the windows - a translucent material that allows light partially into the church. I had noticed something odd about the windows when I had first walked in, so it was fascinating to learn that tidbit of history about them. Another cool fact was that the two side altars were made of a precious green stone donated from Russia. These altars were lovely! This church has around the perimeter above the columns portraits of all of the popes that have ever been. It is said that when all of the portraits are filled, the world will end. ;-) Pope Benedict XVI's portrait is up there now - he wasn't there the last time I was here. :-)

The apse of St. Paul's Outside the Walls

St. Paul's at sunset

The apse was one of my favorite parts this time around - a beautiful mosaic. Another favorite part was the front of the church at sunset. I happened to be outside just at the opportune moment and Sister Joan Paul beckoned me to come see the facade bathed in the golden light. So beautiful! Beneath the giant statue of St. Paul were the words Praedicatori Veritas, Doctori Gentium: Preacher of the Truth, Teacher of the Gentiles. St. Paul and St. Peter were all over that church, which made Joey Walsh very happy as St. Peter is one of his patrons. We celebrated Mass at the basilica and had time to look around. There was a Mass being celebrated in a side chapel soon afterwards - there were little boys with beautiful surplices and cassocks, and the priest was saying the Mass ad orientum - facing the altar vs. the people. It looked very beautiful to my eyes. Later as we wandered through the church a group of Benedictine monks came and took their places at the choir stalls around the sanctuary to chant the Divine Office. Hannah was with me when they began; I was glad to have someone with whom to share my appreciation for their chant - a small musical gift from God for the day. It was neat to have prayed at the tombs and seen the chains of two of the greatest pillars of the foundation of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, St. Peter and St. Paul, both in the same day. One certainly feels a new sense of respect and devotion towards these saints as you visit where their remains rest and reflect on their sacrifices for Christ and Mother Church.