Friday, August 19th
Another long day in Rome but I was really looking forward to this one because we were going to explore Rome like true pilgrims.
We began with the Borghese Gallery, not part of our pilgrimage but we also have a cultural side. This would have made the Roman Pass almost worth it except that I had already bought the tickets in advance for this one because they won't allow you in unless you have a reservation for a specific time. Ours was from 9 to 11. Enough time to admire all the paintings by Caravaggio, and all the beautiful sculptures by Bernini and others.
From there, we took a metro and headed towards the Apian Way, where most of the Christian catacombs are. The metro only took us half way there and then we couldn't figure out the bus system so we took a taxi for the rest of the way.
The first tomb we visited was the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, a wealthy woman who is buried in the Apian Way. Her tomb is not down in a catacomb. Her tomb is an entire building which is mostly in ruins by now.
From there we walked to the Church of St.Sebastiano, underneath which we entered the catacombs. They were pretty eerie but with a lot of history behind it. (My husband told me today 8/24 that while were down there, all he kept thinking was, "if there's an earthquake, we'll be buried down here." Little did we know that just a few days later there would be an earthquake).
We could have continued on to visit other catacombs but we figured they were all pretty similar and we were hungry and tired. Besides, my hubby had accepted that today was all about pilgrimage and he had promised me that in the afternoon, we could visit most of the basilicas.
As we were leaving the church, I found these two beautiful frescoes of two of our newest saints:
We took a taxi back to the hotel, had lunch nearby, went up to our room to freshen up, and then we headed back to the metro to begin our basilicas tour. Our first stop was San Paolo Fuori Le Mura (St. Paul Outside the Walls) where St. Paul is buried. It's called "Outside the Walls" because St. Paul was buried outside the walls of Rome. It's pretty far away but they have built him a pretty impressive basilica. And it was filled with pilgrims.
From there, we took the metro back and visited San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains). This church holds the chains that they used on St. Peter when he was arrested. "The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.' And the chains fell off his wrists." Acts 12 6:7 The chains are kept behind the altar.
There is also a beautiful sculpture of Moses inside the church by Michelangelo over the tomb of Pope Julius II who was pope from 1503 to 1513.
The rest of the churches were walking distance so we then walked over to Sta. Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) which holds a relic of the holy manger. This brought a big discussion between my hubby and myself. I believe anything they tell me but he's more of a Thomas. He had a hard time believing that this could really be from the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was placed when he was born. And I guess he made me think and do some research because it's true, by the time people realized that Jesus was the Messiah 30 years later, how could they find the manger? It's not like Mary would have carried it back to Jerusalem with her and then later on to Egypt. So this is what I found:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04488c.htm.
A lot of studies have been done and whether the wood actually came from the holy manger or not, we may never know for sure on this lifetime, but I like to believe is real and I was very happy to have been able to see it, even if from afar.
We continued our pilgrimage to St. Giovanni Lateran. This church holds the seat of the bishop of Rome and is where Pope Francis gave his first mass after becoming Pope. Across the street is La Scala Sancta which is a set of 28 white marble steps which according to tradition, they are the steps leading up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem on which Jesus stepped on his way to trial. It's said that the stairs have drops from the blood of Jesus. The stairs are now covered in a protective framework of wooden steps but through holes in the wood, you can see the marble below. Hundreds of pilgrims go up the stairs on their knees daily. I did it nine years ago but this time around, I chickened out. My knees have been giving me trouble ever since I fractured the patella three years ago, so I didn't want to risk my last day in Rome messing them up. But my "Thomas" surprised me and went up on his knees. I went up a different set of stairs and waited for him in the chapel above. I was so proud of him.
We then walked over to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
This church holds a piece of the wood from the cross of Jesus' crucifixion, one of the nails used to nail him to the cross, two thorns from His crown and a bone from St. Thomas finger. This was beyond humbling for both Rafe and I. We couldn't take pictures because they don't allow them but I found this on the internet (top is the wood, bottom left the thorns and bottom right the nail).
This was our last stop because by this time it was already 7:30 pm and most of the churches would be closed by now. We took a taxi directly to a restaurant near Piazza Navona that had been recommended to us by my friend Alina who is an expert in all things Rome. Ristorante Santa Lucia didn't disappoint with its delicious lobster and pasta dish, and amazing tiramisu.
We ate outside on their terrace because the weather by this time was perfect. In Italy, even if you melt during the day, the nights are nice and cool. And we have been extremely lucky because it has not rained at all, except for the one storm in Ravello.
After dinner we took another taxi back to the hotel and literally collapsed. And tomorrow, we have to wake up at the crack of dawn because we have a reservation to tour the Vatican Museums and need to be there by 8:30 am.
St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us.
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