Wednesday November 25, 2009

We got up early for Mass in the Grottoes underneath St. Peter’s. Before and after Mass, many of us prayed at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. After taking in more of the basilica with daylight shining in the stain glass windows and the windows of the dome, we got in line for the papal audience that was being held in Paul VI Auditorium. We all had special part tickets, but somehow we got split into three different groups. Pope Benedict finally came out and spoke about Hugh and Richard of St. Victor, who are well known for their theology of communion derived from the inter-personal relationships in the inner life of the Trinity.

At the end of his catechesis, the Holy Father greeted various pilgrim groups in their native language. The most important greeting came at the end of the English-speaking pilgrims when the Holy Father greeted Holy Family Academy. We all stood up to clap and cheer. This was the third time the Pope was greeted Holy Family Academy by name.

This is a clip of the audience on the Vatican channel on YouTube that pans through the audience and shows several of the HFA pilgrims. See if you can find them.

After lunch we took a walk up along the Gianicolo Hill and got a terrific view of Rome. From there we could see many of the domes and monuments of east-Tiber Rome. At certain spots we could also see the Dome of St. Peter’s behind us. After walking by the Paul V Fountain, we descended a series of stairs in Trastevere and walked to the Church of San Crisogono. This Trinitarian Church houses the incorrupt remains of Blessed Anna Maria of Taigi. She was third order Trinitarian and also a wife and mother who lived in the neighborhood. Then we walked to the Church of Santa Cecilia. This church, built on the approximate location of Cecilia’s family estate, houses the remains of St. Cecilia, her husband St. Valerian, and Valerian’s brother St. Tiburtius, all martyrs.

From Trastevere we walked across Tiber Island and past the Jewish Synagoge. The path led us down into the Roman ruins around Teatro Marcello. The light and shadows from the ruins made it feel like being back in Imperial Rome. From there we walked to Santa Maria are Coeli and climbed 124 stairs up to the church. In the church, the parish was having their monthly blessing of the oil used to light the lamps of Baby Jesus Chapel. This carving of the baby Jesus from Olive wood has a devoted following in Rome and is credited with a lot of miracles and answered prayers over the centuries. I had heard about this ceremony for a long time, but had never had the good fortune to making it to one. After the blessing of the oil, many of us got in line to be blessed by the baby Jesus and take a little bottle of blessed oil.

Our last church of that day was the mighty Gesu, one of the main Jesuit churches in Rome. There we venerated the relics of St. Francis Xavier and the tomb of St. Ignatius Loyal. The ceiling had been restored since the last time we had been there and it looked vibrant and beautiful. It really is one of the most splendid baroque churches in the world. My favorite piece of art in the church is a quiet tender sculpture of St. Ann teaching the child Mary in the left transept chapel.