Day 4 Recap

We woke to a sunny day in the Eternal City this morning, a much welcomed change after the last two days of on-and-off rain showers.  It was also an ambitious day.  So many wonderful opportunities dropped into our laps (which we will get to later in the week) that the other Mentor/Guides had to do some re-arranging and pack a few more visits into this day than previously scheduled.

We were up by 7am, showered, breakfasted, and prayed morning prayers before heading out the door at 8:30am.  (Side note: I have to stop and say that the guys in my house have done an exceptional job of eating whatever we happen to have left rather than complaining about what we don't have.)  We met up with the pilgrims being led by Mr. Siemann, grabbed a coffee and made our way to the first site of the day, San Clemente where the group led by Mr. Cole were waiting for us (for once, they didn't have the further walk).

 

San Clemente (St. Clement) has a long, rich history and is very simple compared to the enormous basilicas we visited yesterday.  The pilgrims seemed to warm up to the place immediately as if they were long-lost friends.  We spent a good 1.5 hours at San Clemente and then made our way to San Giovanni in Laterno (St. John Lateran).  St. John Lateran is the cathedral church for the diocese of Rome, and it doesn't disappoint.  As a Tolkien fan, I've always thought that Peter Jackson had John Lateran in mind when he came up with the look for the grand hall of the king at Minas Tirith.  For those of you not familiar with The Lord of the Rings…read it already!  We took our time at John Lateran, spending about two hours taking in everything.

The Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) is right across the street from St. John Lateran.  Even though the actual stairs are closed while some restoration work is being being done, we  took the pilgrims there to see what we could of what was once the papal residence (pre-Avignon papacy years).  We had all worked up a considerable appetite by then so we ducked into an out-of-the-way sandwich shop, run by a father and his daughter.  It was a small place, but very nice.  We came through like a swarm of locusts and pretty much cleaned them out of all they had.  It definitely made their lunch profitable.  As I was paying for the crew, the daughter insisted that I have a complementary double-espresso.  If I understood her Italian, she said that she thought I might need it.  The double-espresso on top of the cappuccino I had with lunch was like rocket fuel for the rest of the afternoon.

Our next stop was Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (The Holy Cross of Jerusalem) which has an amazing collection of relics of the passion of Christ.  When we got there, it had closed for the siesta time and would not re-open until later in the afternoon.  A characteristic of a pilgrim is flexibility, so we hiked to Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) - which we had planned for after lunch.  Once again we were graced with the sublime beauty befitting a house of God.  I was impressed with the feminine quality and tender feel of a basilica which takes its name from Our Blessed Mother.  A quality different from the other major basilicas.

Once again, I spent all too much time snapping photos of the tiling work on the floors at all the Churches, which was setting off all sorts of quilting design ideas of my own.

We then set out for San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains).  Besides the chains which bound St. Peter as a prisoner (both in Rome and Jerusalem), the church houses Michangelo's famous (and imposing) statue of Moses as well as the bones of the seven Maccabee brothers who led the Jewish revolt against the Greeks.  We budgeted about 1.5 hours for St. Peter in Chains, but after an hour we all took a break to enjoy the sunny day and get our first gelato of the day.  By pilgrim law we must have at least one serving of gelato per day.

Our daily Mass was at St. Mary Major so we re-traced our steps there.  After Mass we made our way back in the direction of our apartments.  The boys did some last minute shopping for loved ones back home while the Mentor guides looked for a place to have dinner.  After dinner we went back to our individual apartments for evening prayer and the sharing of graces.  All in all it was a full day but one in which we were able to take our time moving at a reflective pace. 

Thank you so much to all those who are following the daily entries.  Your feedback has been a blessing.  Know that you are in our prayers as we experience all that Rome has to offer.