Day Seven - Rome

Wow! This has been quite a day, and there aren't adequate words to explain all that we have experienced today. But, as always, I will try.

We began the day with Mass in the Chapel of the Patron Saints of Europe in the Vatican Grottos, in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica and just feet from the tomb of St. Peter. I think everyone on the pilgrimage would agree that this Mass has been the most spiritually moving and emotional highlight of our trip thus far. Our private Mass in this chapel was early in the morning, when only groups celebrating Mass are allowed in St. Peter's, so it truly was able to be a time of prayer. Being in such a holy place and in close proximity to the tomb of St. Peter made for a memorable Mass as well. But the choir that was singing in a neighboring chapel was angelic. A beautiful choir was singing for a Mass in another chapel in the Grotto area, and the stone walls and floors of the Grotto carried their sound throughout all the other chapels. As we celebrated Mass, these angelic voices in a cappella harmony filled our chapel and heightened our prayer to a point that surely was nothing less than a foretaste of heaven. There was no doubt that God was present with us this morning, and this Mass helped us remember that we are first of all on pilgrimage, praying in the footsteps of the apostles and those countless Christians who have gone before us but are on the same path that we are.

Following Mass, the group continued to the Vatican Museums, one of the great museums of the world, where they met our local guide for the week, Sylvia. The tour of the Vatican Museums included the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's famous frescos, ancient Greek, Roman and Christian sculptures and much more. While the group toured the Vatican Museums, I went off on a side pilgrimage of my own, having been to the museums before. I took the Rome Metro to the Christian Brothers Generalate, the headquarters of the order that runs La Salle University, my alma mater. There, I prayed at the tomb of St. John Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the Christian Brothers and the patron saint of teachers. I rejoined the group in time for the tour of St. Peter's Basilica. Having already been in the church in the morning for Mass, this tour was an opportunity to walk through the basilica more slowly and admire the art (like Michelangelo's Pieta and the famous statue of St. Peter), as well as the tombs of saints and popes from St. Peter to Blessed John XXIII to Pope John Paul II. St. Peter's is the largest church in the world, the burial place of over 170 popes, and the center of the Catholic world. After today's visit, we all understand better the great history and universality of the Catholic church - it is all here at St. Peter's.

After a brief lunch and time for shopping, we switched gears from Christian Rome to ancient Rome. Sylvia took us on a tour of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, some of the largest excavated ruins of ancient Rome. We also visited the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian, patrons of doctors, which has some of the oldest frescos in Rome. The highlight of the afternoon was a visit to the Mamertine Prison, just off the main section of the Roman Forum, where both St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned before they were executed. This tiny, dark prison certainly helps us understand the conditions that these apostles endured under the Roman persecutions. But they continued ministering and spreading the gospel, even as their own deaths approached, baptizing people in the prison itself, including the guards. We prayed in the Mamertine Prison as a further step in our journey in the Footsteps of St. Paul.

As you can imagine, this was a long day! We had a couple hours of well-deserved rest late in the afternoon before dinner at the hotel. Some of us also explored the neighborhood around the hotel, a charming traditional Roman neighborhood. After dinner, several of us did a very Italian thing - we took an after-dinner stroll to find some gelato! Now, our stomachs filled and our feet tired, it is time to rest another night before tomorrow's Papal Audience with Pope Benedict XVI. We have a free afternoon tomorrow as well, so I hope to post an update on the Papal Audience as soon as I can.