Italy Pilgrimage: Rome (Part 1)
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The Italy pilgrims arrived in the Eternal City of Rome on Saturday. We have already seen so much and still have two full days left. Here are some hightlights from the last couple days.
On Sunday, we toured "Christian Rome." We visited three of the four major basilicas in Rome: St. Mary Major (the largest Marian church in Rome), St. John Lateran (this is the Cathedral of Rome), and St. Paul Outside the Walls (which is built over St. Paul's tomb).
Those basilicas are pictured here in that order. St. Peter's (which is built over St. Peter's tomb and at the center of the Vatican) is the fourth major basilica.
We have visited St. Peter's square a few times now but only went into the church for the first time today and will get a tour on Wednesday (see more below). Additionally, we visited the catacombs, where many Christians from the early centuries were buried.
Some of the spiritual highlights included climbing the Holy Stairs, which are the original stairs Jesus climbed to His trial by Pontius Pilate (they were transported to Rome from the Holy Land), and viewed some amazing relics from the Passion of Our Lord, including fragments of the cross, a couple thorns from the crown of thorns, the sign that hung above Jesus on the cross, and more. We also saw the famous Trevi Fountain.
Today (Monday), we focused on "Ancient Rome." We began the day with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica (down in the crypt where many of the Popes are buried), which was a wonderful privilege. Then, we had a quick look around the main church (pictured to the right).
Next, we visited the famous Coliseum (pictured to the left) and the ancient Roman forum,
among other remains of ancient Rome. One bonus stop was a church called St. Peter in Chains, which houses the relic of the chains that were used on Peter when he was in prison. Finally, we had a free afternoon to explore Rome. Tomorrow is a free day to continue exploring this amazing city.