our st. bede parish pilgrimage to rome & assisi october 2013€¦ · our st. bede parish...
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Our St. Bede Parish Pilgrimage to Rome & Assisi October 2013
Day 1 Friday 25th October. To mark the Year of Faith a group of St. Bede Parishioners
made a pilgrimage in to The Tombs of The Apostles in Rome. We met up with 30 others and
Fr. Martin O'Connor at 06.30 to board a coach to Heathrow and met out tour-leader Damien
before our 11.00 flight to Rome. After checking in to the Best Western Hotel President, we
walked round to the Chapel of Sts. Marcellinus & Peter in Lateran, where Fr. Martin
celebrated our opening mass. We then walked round to the magnificent St. John Lateran Basilica
before returning to the hotel for a group dinner.
Day 2 Saturday 26 October. After early breakfast we walked to the the Basilica of Saint
Clement a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I. The present basilica was
built just before the year 1100. Beneath the present basilica is a 4th-century basilica that had
been converted out of the home of a Roman nobleman. Irish Dominicans have been the
caretakers of San Clemente since 1667, when England outlawed the Irish Catholic Church and
expelled the entire clergy. Pope Urban VIII gave them refuge at San Clemente.
We then walked round to near the Coliseum to meet our Irish Local Guide Judy for a full day
sight-seeing tour of Rome by coach and on foot. Some shots along the way to meet her.
Our first stop was The Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls is a a Roman
Catholic parish church and minor basilica. The basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of
Rome and one of the five Patriarchal basilicas, each of which is assigned to a patriarchate. St.
Lawrence outside the Walls is assigned to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The papal basilica is
the shrine tomb of Saint Lawrence, one of the first seven deacons of Rome martyred in
258. Pope Pius IX, who has been beatified, is also buried at the basilica. Before the present-day
basilica was constructed, the estate upon which it sits was once home to a small oratory built by
Emperor Constantine I who built it over the site on which it was believed that Saint Lawrence
was executed. In the 580s, Pope Pelagius II commissioned the construction of a church over the
site, in honour of the martyr. In the 13th century, Pope Honorius III commissioned the
construction of another church in front of the older structure. It was adorned with frescos
depicting the lives of Saint Lawrence, and the first martyred deacon Saint Stephen, who is
interred with Lawrence in the confession under the high altar. Excavations have revealed
several other crypts of various people, buried below street level. Saint Hilarius is buried here.
In the park opposite is a statue of Pope Pius XII.
Our next stop was The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem a Roman Catholic parish church
and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. According to
tradition, the basilica was consecrated around 325 to house the Passion Relics brought to Rome
from the Holy Land by St. Helena of Constantinople, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I.
At that time, the basilica floor was covered with soil from Jerusalem, thus acquiring the title in
Hierusalem - it is not dedicated to the Holy Cross which is in Jerusalem, but the church itself is
"in Jerusalem" in the sense that a "piece" of Jerusalem was moved to Rome for its foundation.
The relics were once in the ancient St. Helena's Chapel, which is partly under ground level. Here
the founder of the church had some earth from Calvary dispersed, whence the name in
Hierusalem of the basilica. The altar has a huge statue of St. Helena.
The Venerable Antonietta Meo (December 15, 1930 – July 3, 1937)[1] was an Italian girl who
may become the youngest saint who is a confessor (not a martyr) ever canonized by the Church.
A shrine to Antonietta Meo is located at the Basilica Santa Croce in Gerusalemme .
We then drove through other parts of Rome to our next destination, the equally magnificent
Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls commonly known as St Paul's Outside the Walls.
It is one of Rome's four ancient major basilicas or papal basilicas: the basilicas of St. John
Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Peter's and Saint Paul Outside the Walls. On 31 May 2005
Pope Benedict XVI ordered the Basilica to come under the control of an Archpriest and he
named Archbishop Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo as its first archpriest. James Michael
Harvey was named archpriest of the basilica in 2012. After lunch at the basilica's cafeteria, we
toured the grounds and the basilica.
The basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I over the burial place of Saint
Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial,
called a cella memoriae.
This first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I in the 370s. In 386, Emperor Theodosius
I began erecting a much larger and more beautiful basilica. The work including the mosaics was
not completed until Leo I's pontificate (440–461). In the 5th century it was larger than the Old
St. Peter's Basilica. Under Gregory the Great (590–604) the basilica was extensively modified.
The pavement was raised to place the altar directly over Paul's tomb. A confession permitted
access to the Apostle's sepulcher. As it lay outside the Aurelian Walls, the basilica was
damaged in the 9th century during the Saracen invasions. Consequently, Pope John VIII (872–
882) fortified the basilica, the monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry, forming the town
of Joannispolis which existed until 1348, when an earthquake totally destroyed it. Pope Gregory
VII was abbot of the monastery and in his time Pantaleone, a rich merchant of Amalfi who lived
in Constantinople, presented the bronze doorsof the basilica major, which were executed by
Constantinopolitan artists; the doors are inscribed with Pantaleone's prayer that the "doors of
life" may be opened to him. The graceful cloister of the monastery was erected between 1220
and 1241. From 1215 until 1964 it was the seat of the Latin Patriarch of Alexandria.
On 15 July 1823 a fire, started through the negligence of a workman who was repairing the lead
of the roof, resulted in the almost total destruction of the basilica which, alone of all the
churches of Rome, had preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. It was re-opened in
1840, and reconsecrated in 1855 with the presence of Pope Pius IX and fifty cardinals.
Completing the works of reconstruction took longer, however, and many countries made their
contributions. The Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia the
precious malachite and lapis lazuli of the tabernacle. The work on the principal façade, looking
toward the Tiber, was completed by the Italian Government, which declared the church a
national monument. On 23 April 1891 the explosion of the gunpowder magazine at Forte
Portuense destroyed the stained glass windows.
The Holy Door, The Interior of the Church and Arnolfo de Cambio's Tabernacle.
The ceiling, apse mosaic (1220) by Venetian artists showing Christ flanked by Peter, Paul,
Andrew and Luke, the tomb of St Paul and us just outside the Basilica.
Right round the basilica just below the ceiling are medallion icons of every Pope since Peter.
We then went on to The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica of Saint Mary Major) the
largest Catholic Marian church in Rome. According to the 1929 Lateran Treaty, the basilica
located in Italian territory is owned by the Holy See and enjoys extraterritorial status similar
to that of foreign embassies. The building is patrolled internally by police agents of Vatican City
State, not by Italian police. It is located on Piazza del Esquilino. The church may sometimes be
referred to as Our Lady of the Snows, a name given to it in the Roman Missal from 1568 to
1969 in connection with the liturgical feast of the anniversary of its dedication on 5 August.
This name for the basilica had become popular in the 14th century in connection with a legend
that the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia reports thus: "During the pontificate of Liberius, the Roman
patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to
the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of
their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell during
the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which
they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was
covered with snow. From the fact that no mention whatever is made of this alleged miracle until
a few hundred years later, not even by Sixtus III in his eight-line dedicatory inscription, it
would seem that the legend has no historical basis."
Then, a nice cold beer before going back to the hotel and a free night for dinner with Magalie
and Jenny and more wine and chat at the bar.
Day 3 Sunday 27th October After breakfast we took the Metro to Ottaviano Station and
Vatican City to celebrate Holy Mass and the Angelus with His Holiness Pope Francis, better
known in Rome as Papa Francisco. An experience that cannot be put into words. God bless him
and long may he live. There must have been a quarter of a million there to see and hear him.
After lunch, we walked down to The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel
Sant'Angelo a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially
commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. There
is a tunnel from The Vatican to The Castel which was once the tallest building in Rome. The
building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.
We then met the group again and visited St. Peter's Basilica.
A panoramic view of St Peter's Square and a view from the dome of the Basilica below.
St. Peter's is a church in the Renaissance style located in Rome west of the River Tiber and
near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of
Rome. The basilica is approached via St. Peter's Square.
The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form. The central
space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. One
of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door, only opened in Holy
Years. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches. There are over
100 tombs within St. Peter's Basilica, many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica.
These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the
composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward
Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart. Also buried here is
Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism, and
Countess Matilda of Tuscany, supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy.
Recent Popes interred here Pius XII, John Paul II, and John XXIII.
St. Peter's Basilica as painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini The apse with St. Peter's Cathedra supported by
four Doctors of the Church
The dome The nave looking towards Crepuscular rays are seen in the The narthex
the entrance Basilica at times each day
Maderno's nave, looking towards the chancel View of the interior shows the transept arms to right and
chancel beyond the baldacchino arms to right and left
The altar with Bernini's baldacchino Bernini's "Cathedra Petri" and "Gloria"
Statues in the piers of the dome
Saint Helena St Longinus St Andrew St Veronica
Treasures of St Peters
The Holy Door is opened only for great celebrations. The bronze statue of Saint Peter holding the keys, attributed
to Arnolfo di Cambio. The Pietà by Michelangelo is in the north aisle, andTruth, by Bernini. Her big toe is pierced by
a thorn from Britain.
Tomb of Pope John Paul II
Tombs of Pope John XXIII and Pope Innocent XI.
The centre door into the basilica & a Swiss Guard.
The crypt was closed so we postponed our visit to the Tomb of St. Peter to Wednesday
afternoon after the audience with the Pope. Then it was back to the hotel for a rest before
dinner.
Day 4 Monday 28th October After an early breakfast, we boarded a coach for a 2+ hour drive
to Assisi, a small town and commune of Italy in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on
the western flank of Monte Subasio. We first visited the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Lower Assisi. Two of The USA's biggest cities get
their names from here - San Francisco and Los Angeles. The basilica was constructed between
1569 and 1679 enclosing the 9th century little church, the Porziuncola, the most sacred place
for the Franciscans. It was here that the young Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and
renounced the world in order to live in poverty among the poor and started the Franciscan
movement.
Nave with the Porziuncola. The Porziuncola.
Fr Martin celebrated Holy Mass for us in a small chapel (size of a front room) in the monastery.
The Cappella del Transito is the small room where St. Francis died on 3 October 1226. It was a
little hut serving as a primitive infirmary for the sick.
One enters the rose garden via the sacristy. It is the last remains of the ancient wood in which
St Francis and his friars lived. Here he talked to the turtle doves. Doves have been nesting
since times immemorial in the hands of the statue of St. Francis in this rose garden.
According to tradition, one night St. Francis, feeling the temptation to abandon his way of life,
rolled naked in the bramble thorns in an attempt to overcome doubt and temptation. In contact
with his body, the bramble bushes turned into dog roses without thorns. Since then, the dog
rose has been grown here.
From the rose garden, one enters the Rose Chapel. This was the cell where St. Francis rested
and spent the rest of the night in prayer and penance. Here St. Francis also met Saint Anthony
of Padua.
After lunch we took the coach to Upper Assisi and met our guide who took us on a guided tour
around the old town and the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare. St. Agnes. Clare's sister also
followed her and is buried in the Basilica in an unmarked grave.
Saint Clare of Assisi (July 16, 1194 – August 11, 1253), is an Italian saint and one of the first
followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious
order for women in the Franciscan tradition. Following her death, the order she founded was
renamed in her honour as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor
Clares.
The Basilica of Saint Clare (Basilica di Santa Chiara in Italian) is dedicated to and contains
the remains of Saint Clare of Assisi. Through the supporting arch is a view of the Fort of Assisi.
From here we walked through the old town to the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
Wild boar is a local delicacy. On the way we visited the Temple of Minerva. It currently houses
a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, built in 1539. The temple was built in the 1st century BC.
Of the ancient temple, the façade has been preserved, with six Corinthian columns supporting
the architrave and a small pediment.
The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order
of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscan Order in Assisi, the city where St.
Francis was born and died. The basilica is one of the most important places of
Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, the basilica is a distinctive landmark
to those approaching Assisi. The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill
and comprises two churches known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church, and
a crypt where the remains of the saint are interred.
The Lower and Upper basilicas and the portico, as seen from Side entrance to the lower basilica
the Lower Plaza of St. Francis.
Nave of the upper basilica and Papal altar with frescoes
Tomb of St. Francis in the crypt and Courtyard
We then walked down to lower Assisi to the coach and a cup of coffee. The little cafe and the
views of Assisi from there. We left at 5.00pm for the hotel for dinner and a relaxing evening.
Day 5 Tuesday 29th October After breakfast we walked round to Sanctuary of the Santa
Scala (Holy Stairs). According to the Christian tradition, the steps that led to the praetorium
of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial.
The stairs were, reputedly, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th century. For centuries,
the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wished to honour the Passion of Jesus by
climbing the stairs on their knees. It consists of twenty-eight white marble steps, now encased
by wood, located in a building which incorporates part of the old Lateran Palace, located opposite
the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. They are located next to a church which was built on ground
brought from Mount Calvary. The stairs lead to the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies), the
personal chapel of the early Popes in the Lateran palace, known as the chapel of St. Lawrence.
We then crossed the road to The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, commonly known
as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica, St. John Lateran's Basilica, and just The Lateran
Basilica. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat
of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope.
It is the oldest and ranks first among the four Papal Basilicas or major basilicas of Rome (having
the cathedra of the Bishop of Rome). It claims the title of ecumenical mother church among
Roman Catholics. An inscription on the façade, Christo Salvatori, indicates the church's
dedication to "Christ the Saviour", for the cathedrals of all patriarchs are dedicated to Christ
himself. As the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, it ranks above all other churches in
the Catholic Church, including St. Peter's Basilica. For that reason, unlike all other Roman
Basilicas, it holds the title of Archbasilica.
The archbasilica is located outside of the boundaries of Vatican City proper, although within the
city of Rome. However it enjoys extraterritorial status as one of the properties of the Holy
See. This is also the case with several other buildings, following the resolution of the Roman
Question with the signing of the Lateran Treaty. Below the Baldacchino is a statute of John the
Baptist and the tomb of Pope Martin V (1443).
The Basilica from the Holy Stairs and the 14th century Gothic Baldacchino. Below, The Papal Cathedra.
Fr Martin then celebrated mass in the Choir Chapel of San Giovanni.
Part of the decorated ceiling. The Loggia delle Benedizioni, on the back left side. Annexed, on the left, is the
Lateran Palace. The square in front has an obelisk commissioned by Pharaoh.
The Archbasilica and a statue of St. Francis and his followers across the road facing the Archbasilica.
We then took the metro into the centre of Rome to take in some of the city's landmarks.
The Trevi Fountain
The Pantheon built over 2000 years ago and the square opposite. The alter and natural lighting from the ceiling.
The Church of St. Louis of the French (San Luigi dei Francesi) is a Roman Catholic minor
basilica and titular church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. It is the national church in
Rome of France and the seat of the Cardinal of Paris. It houses three outstanding paintings by
Michaelanglo de Merisi, known as Caravaggio and a feast of Roman Baroque art.
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian,
built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.
Then it was time for lunch and after that a walk back to St. Peter's to visit the crypt and pray
at the tomb of St. Peter. On the way back we passed The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola a
Roman Catholic titular church dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of
Jesus (The Jesuits). Then from St. Peter's it was back to the hotel for our last supper there.
Day 6 Wednesday 30th October. After an early breakfast we headed back to St. Peter's for
the Papal Audience at 10.00 am. It was an experience to behold and never forgotten. While
waiting, a Welsh Choir next to us, newlyweds and many other from all over the world.
And then it was a short walk to the Church of the Holy Spirit for our last mass together with
Fr. Martin in another beautiful church.
Our Anam Cara Tour Guide, Damien and a view of St. Peter's from the Church of the Holy Spirit
The Pilgrims. Then it was lunch, back to the hotel and an evening flight back to London. The end
of a very memorable pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi.