Catacombs of Santa Priscilla (Rome, IT)

This early 3rd century fresco on a tomb in the catacombs of Santa Priscilla is the earliest known depiction in art of the Madonna.  I took this photo from a postcard since there is a prohibition from taking photos in the catacombs.  The remaining photos were taken at the catacombs, but they are few in number.

The only photo I was able to take inside the catacombs.  It is of us celebrating morning Mass.

The second most popular destination at the catacombs is the men's room!

Benedict XVI's Final General Audience (The Vatican)

[This posting was written last night, 27 FEB, but only published online this morning, 28 FEB.  The wireless server was not working for most of yesterday evening.  The good news is that now it is.]

Yes, I was among the tens of thousands who filled St. Peter's Square and the Via della Conciliazione for the Holy Father's final General Audience.  It was a Springlike day with brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures.  People were arriving at the Square at 7:30 AM for the Audience which began at 10:30 AM.  Benedict XVI arrived at 10:30 AM in the Popemobile and did 2 circuits of the crowd before going to his throne.  The official audience began at 11:00 AM.  I was standing at the very end of the Square, just in front of the Via della Concliazione, so all of the photos which are attached are from a great distance.  However, they will give you a sense of the tens of thousands who were there.

From the basilica to where I am standing to take these pictures is a least the length of 3 football fields!

Fr. Brian Geary (Illinois)

A group of students from France standing next to me, having their picture taken.

The French priest who was taking their picture.

The Pope is sitting on his throne under the canopy and is flanked by cardinals and bishops.

He went that a' way!

Some of the police who were scattered throughout the crowds.

I believe I mentioned yesterday that I would have photos of the catacombs for today's posting.  Our trip to the catacombs is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  This afternoon we toured the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls which contains the tomb of St. Paul.  The basilica is one of the 4 papal basilicas of Rome.  I leave you with a question, which are the other 3?

Sr. Emanuela, our tour guide at the basilica.

Statue of St. Peter

Statue of St. Paul

Nave of the basilica (which is the second largest church in the world).

Main altar of the basilica

Tomb of St. Paul is directly below the main altar behind the grill.  The hole shows the foundation of the original basilica which was destroyed in a fire.

Apse of the basilica

The Vatican Museums (The Vatican)

As a group, we toured the Vatican Museums with Professor Liz Lev as our private guide.  Now don't build up your expectations about seeing photos of the museums and the Sistine Chapel.  Since photos are prohibited in the Sistine Chapel, I did not take my camera with me.  It was a wonderful tour because of the ways in which Professor Lev described, as only an art historian can, what we were looking at.  At one point, the Curator of the Early Christian Museum, a friend and colleague of Professor Lev, joined us and talked in great detail about early Christian art forms and symbols and the artists' objective to convey in art theological and scriptural texts.  As you might suspect, the highlight of the tour was at the very end when we visited the Sistine Chapel.  No photos or art books can ever capture the extraordinary brilliance and beauty of the chapel.  We were lucky to be able to visit the Sistine Chapel because it will be closed in the next few days in order to prepare the chapel for the conclave of cardinals.  As you know, the election of the pope takes place within the Sistine Chapel.  Adding to the excitement, tomorrow will be the final General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square.  A crowd of more than 200,000 people are expected to fill the Square.  And on Thursday, Benedict XVI leaves the Vatican by helicopter at 5:00 PM and will officially no longer be Pope as of 8:00 PM.  Another throng of people are expected in the Square on Thursday evening.  The excitement is still building in anticipation of the conclave.

So you are not totally disappointed, I have attached 2 photos to this posting.  The one above is a decorative flower pot in front of the chapel at the North American College, which is pictured below.

That is it for photos on this posting.  Tomorrow I expect to post photos from our field trip to the catacombs of Santa Priscilla.  Stay tuned!

Tour of the Scavi of St. Peter's Basilica (The Vatican)

It was another rainy and cloudy day in Rome today, but it really didn't matter because we had another, and very different, tour of St. Peter's Basilica.  We were taken to the scavi, the underground excavations of the basilica, and to the actual site of the tomb of St. Peter where his bones are entombed.  The tomb is beneath the basilica and is part of the larger necropolis on which St. Peter's was constructed.  A necropolis is basically a cemetery.  The Roman necropolis under St. Peter's is filled with early Roman tombs.  The only part which has been excavated is the area of St. Peter's tomb which is directly beneath the main altar of the basilica.  No photos are allowed to be taken in the scavi, so the photos which are attached were taken from the side of the basilica which leads to a door of the basilica where the tour begins.

Buon Viaggio! (Rome, IT)

It is the last day of the visit of Vin Lembo, Deanna Jantzen, Denise McCarthy, and Peter Lembo.  They return to Boston tomorrow.  We met in the morning for Mass at del Caravita, then continued our walking tour of Rome.  After leaving Caravita, we stopped at the Church of St. Ignatius where this group photo was taken.  As we entered the church we ran into Father Scott Brodeur of the New England Province who had just finished presiding at the 11:30 Mass.

Main altar of the Church of St. Ignatius.

Apse of the Church of St. Ignatius

As we continued our walking tour, we passed Piazza di Torre Argentina where, to Peter's delight, we looked at the many cats that inhabit the ruins.

We then crossed over the Tiber River into Trastevere in search of a restaurant recommended to Deanna.  When we arrived at the restaurant, we discovered that it is only open for dinner and opens at 7:30 PM.  As we turned the corner, we came across a wonderful restaurant that has not been "discovered" by tourists.  It was bustling with the locals of the neighborhood.  The restaurant is La Gattabua, which roughly translates to "black hole" or "dungeon", since the restaurant is in the basement of the site of a former jail.  The food was delicious, and the service very friendly.

Piazza de Mercanti

After a leisurely lunch, we began to explore Trastevere.  Around the corner from La Gattabua is the Church of Santa Cecilia, where we stopped and took some photos.

Main altar of the Church of Santa Cecilia

Marble statue of Saint Cecilia in the main altar.

One of the many monuments in the church.

A cardinal's coat of arms on the floor of the church.

A fresco on the wall of the church.

The decorative bookends of the courtyard fountain.

After I wished "the gang" a fond buon viaggio as they entered their taxi in Trastevere, I walked back to Casa O'Toole, but not before stopping at the Church of Santo Crisogno in Trastevere a taking a few photos.

Portrait of Benedict XVI over the main door of the church.