The Eternal City

A few weeks ago was my first visit to the Eternal City, more commonly known as Rome. My professor allowed me to skip a day of class because my cousin was ordained to the deaconate in St. Peter’s Basilica on a Thursday morning. I went down Wednesday after class and met my family at a vigil holy hour in one of the gloriously cliché magnificent churches of Rome. That evening I went to dinner with my mom and spent time with my aunt, uncle and cousins for the evening.

The next day we got up early for the ordination in St. Peter’s at the Altar of the Chair. There were about forty men from the North American College in Rome ordained to the deaconate that day. Afterwards there was a reception at the college itself. I stayed for that but had to get on a train to return home for a midterm exam the next day.

After my midterm on Friday in Riva I got on the train again, and back to Rome in order to spend the rest of the weekend with my family. Friday night we just relaxed in the apartment except for a short outing to the Pantheon and a few other churches.

Saturday we got up early and returned to St. Peter’s for eight o’clock private-ish Mass at the altar where are buried the bones of Pope Saint Gregory the Great. A beautiful Mass, I think the only Novus Ordo totally in Latin that I have ever attended. Afterwards we went to a coffee shop and enjoyed cappuccinos, pastries and some wonderful company.

Next we did some walking, I saw the Coliseum, the Circus Maximus and once again, many churches. Hung out at our apartment  and in the evening we went to St. Peter’s Square for what we thought was evening prayer but was actually the opening of the Extraordinary Synod after which we went back for dinner with family and friends.

The next day, as some of the family left the remaining family and I went to the Pontifical North American College and wandered the city for the morning before going to the Pope’s Angelus address even though we didn’t really understand anything accept for the Angelus itself.  Afterwards we went to lunch on the way to Mass at St. Mary Major. After Mass we went and saw the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and got a pizza for dinner at a little eatery, one of the few open on Sunday.

 After that I was back to the train station and off to Riva after a relaxing and happy weekend.