Dear St. Rita Families,
I know that you have been anxiously awaiting the third installment of the St. Rita Pilgrimage Chronicles, and your patience is about to pay off! After spending Sunday morning contemplating the Advent of Our Lord near His manger at St. Mary Major, and likewise His Passion at the Scala Santa and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, we were able to spend the rest of the day contemplating the fruits of these mysteries: the saints.
Our next stop that day was the most well-preserved of the ancient buildings in Rome, the Pantheon. The name sounds like it belongs to a pagan temple rather than a Church, and that is because it was indeed built as a pagan temple! “Pantheon” means “all the gods”, and this pagan-temple-turned-Catholic-Church may have honored more than one Roman god/goddess for several centuries. In the 7th century, however, the temple was converted into a Church, and it has the name Basilica Santa Maria ad Martyres: the Basilica of Saint Mary and the Martyrs. The Basilica houses many, many relics of the martyrs, which were on display on the main altar, likely because of the proximity of our visit to All Saints’ Day. The Basilica also contains the tomb of the Renaissance painter Raphael.
With the Pantheon, we began our 6.5 mile walking tour of Churches in Rome! The next Church we visited was Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, so named because the Church was built over or nearly over a temple to the goddess Minerva, goddess of wisdom and warfare (her Greek equivalent was Athena). Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, the Tabernacle of Wisdom Incarnate (Jesus), who crushes the head of the ancient serpent, certainly triumphs over pagan goddesses both in wisdom and in warfare! This Church is run by the Dominican fathers, and within are the relics of several Dominican saints: the tomb of Bl. Fra Angelico, the head of St. Dominic, the arm of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the body of St. Catherine of Siena! We were also privileged to receive a guided tour from a Dominican priest there known to our guide. He brought us to the reconstructed room of St. Catherine of Siena, who had lived for a time across the street. The walls and appurtenances of the room were removed and placed within the Dominican convent.
We attempted then to visit the Church of Sant’Ignazio, where St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Berchmans, and St. Robert Bellarmine are buried – all Jesuits. The Church was closed to visitors because of an organ concert, however, so we continued on to the Church of the Gesu. The Gesu is operated also by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), hence the name “Gesu”. Here we prayed at the tomb of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and venerated the relic of St. Francis Xavier (his right arm, which baptized thousands of people). The relics of St. Giuseppe Pignatelli and St. Andrew Bobola are also there.
Our next stop was the Church Sant’Andrea della Valle, where is buried St. Giuseppe Maria Tomasi, Theatine Cardinal. From there, we went to Piazza Navone, where the Church of St. Agnese in Agone (St. Agnes in Agony) is located. The 13-year-old martyr’s bones are preserved here, and the Church is raising money for the restoration of the Crypt, the location of her martyrdom. By this point, it was getting dark and we were tired, but there were still more saints to see! And so, we continued our makeshift procession of pilgrims and arrived shortly thereafter at Chiesa Nuova – the “New Church”. The actual name is Santa Maria in Vallicella, and it received the new name when it was rebuilt by St. Philip Neri in the 16th century. The saint is buried here at Chiesa Nuova, although we could not approach his tomb because they were celebrating solemn Vespers in the Church that evening (as we do at St. Rita every Friday night at 7 PM). Our final visit Sunday evening was to the Church of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, where we were able to venerate the relic of the foot of St. Mary Magdalene – a beautiful conclusion to an intense day!
The next morning, we had Holy Mass scheduled in St. Peter’s Basilica, which was a beautiful experience. We used the Lithuanian Chapel in the crypt of the Basilica. This, sadly, was the only place we weren’t allowed to sing during Mass – not for any ideological reason, but because there are so many Masses happening in close proximity that it would be a disturbance to others. Regardless, celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the heart of Holy Mother Church, was a real privilege and a joy! After Mass, we received a tour of the main Church of St. Peter’s, seeing the newly restored baldachino, designed by Bernini. It is beautiful and worthy! Designed to mark the location (beneath) of the tomb of St. Peter himself, it covers the high altar in St. Peter’s as well, and immediately draws your attention. At this time, there is also on display by the baldachino the Chair of St. Peter. Exposed for the first time for public veneration since 1887, the chair is likely NOT the chair used by St. Peter himself, but a symbol nonetheless of the authority given by Christ to him and his successors – the Popes in Rome. “Sede” is Latin for “chair”, and from it we get the phrase “Holy See”. The Greek is “Cathedra”, and so the Cathedral Church of each Diocese has a chair that is used only by the Bishop and is a sign of his role as the primary teacher of the Faith in his Diocese. At St. Peter’s, too, we were able to pray at the tomb of St. John Paul II, St. John XXIII, St. Paul VI, Bl. John Paul I, and Pope Benedict XVI. Some of the group went upstairs to the cupola also, where there is a fantastic view of St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding area!
After St. Peter’s, we took our bus over to St. Paul Outside the Walls, the third of the four major Basilicas we visited. Dedicated to St. Paul, this Church contains a sarcophagus which may contain his relics, as well as part of the chain which help him captive while he was in Rome. As a sign of the unity between Peter and Paul, in this Church there are images of all of the Popes adorning the upper part of walls. The images of the 266 popes circle around the basilica a couple of times, and with the current layout, there are only about 5 spots left!
From St. Paul’s, we came back inside the Aurelian Walls of the city to visit St. John Lateran, which is the Cathedral Church of Rome and the oldest Church in Europe. That means that the Pope’s Cathedral is not St. Peter’s, but rather St. John Lateran. The name Lateran comes from the Laterano family who owned the land in that area. The Basilica is dedicated first to Our Lord, and secondly to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. The popes for many years lived near the Basilica here in the Lateran Palace. This Church is referred to as the “Mater et Caput” – the Mother and Head – of all the Churches of the world, because of her status as the Cathedral Church in Rome. Interestingly, the center doors of the Church were the doors of the Roman Senate, repurposed for Church use. We were able to visit the tomb of Pope Leo XIII, who was the last pope not to be buried in St. Peter’s. Interestingly, Pope Francis has indicated his desire to be buried at St. Mary Major.
The next day, our last day, we had the privilege of visiting Villa Tevere, which is the headquarters of Opus Dei in Rome. A non-descript place (like many centers of Opus Dei), here we were able to celebrate Mass in the very beautiful Prelatic Church, Santa Maria della Pace. Under the main altar is the tomb of St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. Afterwards, we were given a brief tour of the crypt underneath, where are buried Bl. Don Alvaro del Portillo and Don Jaiver Echevarría, successors to St. Josemaría. Also buried there are others close to St. Josemaria and the history of Opus Dei, Servant of God Dora del Hoyo, “Aunt” Carmen St. Josemaria’s sister, and Rosalía Lopez (died April 2024), one of the first four women to ask admission to Opus Dei. We also venerated a relic of Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri.
Our final visit on our pilgrimage to Rome was to the famed Vatican Museums. The museums are extensive, and one could spend much more than the meager 3 hours we had to be able to tour them and see all of the beautiful art and history that is on display. The highlight, of course, was the Sistene Chapel, whose frescoes painted by Michelangelo and others are subjects of constant admiration and meditation. The Chapel is also the location where the Cardinals of the Church gather to elect a new pope. Seated before Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, they are reminded of the gravity of the work they undertake. This chapel was a beautiful place to pray for the Holy Father and for the whole Church!
I pray that this recounting of our pilgrimage journey has been fruitful for you to read! Our purpose was not just to visit some cool places, but rather to honor God, the Church, and the saints, and to seek to follow Christ more fully and completely, in service of the Church, as did the saints themselves. My constant prayer in Italy was for you and your intentions, for the conversion of everyone in our parish boundaries, and for the specific intentions of those who asked for prayers on this pilgrimage. Thank you for your prayers for us as well! The Lord was and is extremely generous!
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen