We started our day, the First Saturday of the month, honoring
our Blessed Mother. We walked to the
Trevi Fountain and met Fr. Josh Ehli, from the Bismark, North Dakota Diocese,
who explained that the fountain was built to honor the young virgin who
discovered the source of water for the city of Rome. The fountain honors the Romans, which allowed
the Church to flourish. The money that
we threw into the fountain goes to help the poor of Rome.
Then we walked to the Casa Santa Maria, where the young men
who study at the North American College stay, and Father celebrated Mass for us
in the beautiful chapel, then explained several of the pieces of art in the
chapel.
Father took us to the basilica of St. Mary Major, and we
entered through the Holy Door. This is
the greatest Church in the West to honor the Blessed Mother. We had a tour of the basilica, and prayed at
the statue of Our Lady of Peace. Father
explained the meaning of the gestures of Mary and Jesus, and said that peace in
the world begins with us. He also
explained the image of “Our Lady, Health of the Romans.” We visited the Blessed Sacrament chapel where
St. Jerome is buried under the altar, and in which St. Ignatius of Loyola
celebrated his First Mass. The highlight of our visit was praying at the reliquary
containing five pieces of wood from the manger in which Jesus was born, which
is under the main altar. We had a little
time for private prayer in this holy place.
Next we walked to Santa Prassede, where we venerated the
column at which Jesus was scourged. St.
Prassede had brought the bones of the martyrs from the catacombs to this church. Then we went to visit the Redemptorist church
of St. Alphonso, where the original 14th century icon of Our Lady of
Perpetual Help is housed. We spent some
time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
After a lunch of pizza and coffee, we walked to the Basilica
of St. John Lateran, taking the street along which the Pope carries the Blessed
Sacrament during the Corpus Christi procession.
We first visited the ornate Baptistery which is still in use. This is the Mother Church of Rome and the
Pope’s cathedral church. After going
through another Holy Door, Father explained several of the bas relief images
from both the Old and New Testaments as well as the statues of the
Apostles. We also saw the table of the
Last Supper.
To conclude our day, Sr. Daisy treated us to ice cream in
honor of the Feast of Our Lady of the Garden, the Patroness of her Community.
Throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain!
The Chapel at the Casa Santa Maria
Group photo at St. Mary Major
Entering the Holy Door at St. Mary Major
The pillar at which Jesus was scourged, at St. Prassede Church
The altar at St. Alphonso Church - just above the altar is the original image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Father Ehli explaining the baptistry images at St. John Lateran
Entering the Holy Door at St. John Lateran
Final group photo in front of the Cathedra at St. John Lateran
