My Italy Pilgrimage with Dynamic Catholic - Day 3 (continued)

So, I was so excited to show you how close I actually was to Pope Francis, that I neglected to share the video's I took as we approached the Vatican.  Enjoy the following videos....

                                                                          So, there were other things that were fascinating to see.  One thing was the 'guards'.  What do you think?

There were lots and lots of people present to see the Pope on this very sunny day!

 

The covered area is where the Pope sat during his address...

... and while we were waiting, I was sitting in the perfect spot to see all of the newlywed Catholic couples.  There is a criteria that each couple must meet in order to have their marriage blessed by the Pope during a visit to the Vatican.  Before I post the pictures of some of the couples, below is the link that tells how this comes about:

http://www.youngcatholicwomen.com/weddings/you-can-also-get-your-marriage-blessed-by-pope-francis

So here are photo's of some of the couples.  It seemed like there were hundreds that passed by.  It was better than any bridal show I have ever attended.  There was such a variety of wedding gowns... and they were all wearing heels and walking on the cobblestone... up hill!  They were all very beautiful brides and handsome grooms:

Following this most amazing morning of all, we did a little shopping near the Vatican then walked to an amazing restaurant for lunch, called the Trattoria Tritone.  As usual, the food was wonderful and the fellowship with my fellow pilgrims was memorable!

Then we loaded our buses to head for the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, the oldest of the four basilicas in Rome and home to relics of Sts. Peter and Paul.  This is also the basilica where Pope Francis was installed as Bishop of Rome and where he officiates as the Bishop of Rome.  More on this later though... first, there were other things to see along the way.

So I'll share some of the things we saw from the bus on  our journey... most of which I am not able to tell you about, but each of them has a story that is worth hearing about if I could remember:

So on this day, we also visited the Trevi Fountain.  Did you know that the Trevi Fountain is one of the oldest water sources in Rome?  Did you also know that this is the fountain that was featured in the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain"?  It was also featured in other movies and there is a lot of folklore surrounding it.  For that reason, if you want to read about the fascinating stories and history, click on the links above.  In the meantime, here are my pics.

While here, my roommate and I decided that we'd try a real Italian Gelato ice cream.  Yummy!!

Below are more photo's of what the city of Rome looks like.  Notice that there are LOTS of moped type vehicles and very small cars.  I saw very few vehicles as we know the in the US.  Also notice how they park...  however you can.

.... and more architecture (with stories I can't remember).

The visit to St. John the Lateran basilica was breathtaking and deeply moving, as were all the holy places we visited.  For some reason, I am not able to identify the photos of my visit to this place, so will include a link below.  Please know that what you see when you click on this link is what I saw when I was there.  Every single visit to every single site was deeply moving to me.

St. John the Lateran basilica

My Italy Pilgrimage with Dynamic Catholic - Day 3

This day is Wednesday, November 9, and it is the day I have been waiting and praying for.  We will begin this day with a Papal Audience. That means I will get to see the Pope... for real this time!

We were up and downstairs for breakfast at 6:15 am.  We left the hotel at 7:00 am.  Gotta get there early if you're gonna get a front seat to see the successor to St. Peter :-).  Oh, did I mention that we walked to the Vatican.  (Remember the first night we arrived, we walked to the Vatican... well this is the same walk.  Not too far).

It was a chilly, crisp morning, but there was lots of excitement.  Enjoy the walk with me.... here are the pics.

The Papal Audience is celebrated each Wednesday (pending Pope Francis' schedule).  It was a chilly morning, as most of these November days were, but the day ended up being beautiful and sunny.  We got into the gates and got seated pretty early.  Our chaperones told us where to sit to get the best view of the Pope.  I chose a location very near the outside edge of the walled off seating where I thought I'd get the best view.  There was a couple sitting right next to the wall/fence, and I was sitting next to them.  They seemed to be 'saving' seats and were with another group.  In the end, they didn't need the seats that were next to me and I got to move over right next to the fence/wall.  Guess what, it was one of the best seats in the house!  Praise God!   

While we were waiting, there was a parade of newlywed couples walking by who would receive a private audience with the Pope, who would give the a special blessing.  I would guess there were about 100 couples on the day we were there.  Each couple wore the wedding garments that they were married in and met the criteria of having been married in the last several months (can't remember for sure). In any case, it was impressive and must have been such an honor. I can't imagine any of these blessed marriages not succeeding. 

So, the time finally came..... and below are the pictures!

My Italy Pilgrimage with Dynamic Catholic - Day 2 (Continued)

Tuesday, November 8 was a long, busy day for us...  there is more to post, so I am going to continue the story about this day today...  

In this post, you will see the rest of St. Paul Outside the Walls, our visit to the Catacombs (although we were not allowed to take photographs there) and more narrative on our day.  

This I have to say first though.  We didn't really see a lot of the Vatican... there was SO much we didn't see.  But what we did see was enormous and impactful! It is difficult for me to label the pictures I took, cause I was just clicking to try to capture my experience.  Through the 'whispers' that we constantly had in our ears, our guides were giving us a detailed description of what we were looking at.  But to capture that, I would have needed lots of video with sound.  It was all very humbling.  Throughout my posts, I am including links to many of the things I saw that I cannot explain.  Clicking on the links will certainly give you better pictures than I could have taken and probably give you a lot of the detail that I was hearing at the time. But know that if there is a link, you will be looking at something that I saw!

To me, probably the most humbling and sacred part of the Vatican tour was when we went downstairs to where the Popes are entombed. Below are interesting links to more information about the tombs.

More information on deceased Popes in the Vatican 

Papal tombs in St. Peter's Basilica

OK, so on with day two.  I haven't even seen Pope Francis.... yet :-(.  I have to say, that when family and friends ask me about my experience, I become tongue tied.... unable to articulate anything about what I saw and heard.  That is why this exercise to re-live my pilgrimage is so important to me. 

Before we went to St. Paul outside the Walls, we enjoyed a little shopping time and then lunch nearby the Trevi Fountain.  It was the atmosphere of a town square with LOTS of people and shops.  Trevi Fountain is well known (Three Coins in the Fountain).  It had just recently been refurbished and was beautiful.  Funny, I didn't take any photo's though.  Guess I was too interested in the 'gelato' that my roommate Jeanne and I picked up at the corner gelato (ice cream store).  Below is a link to Trevi Fountain that may be helpful.  

Trevi Fountain

After a visit to the fountain, we had a lovely lunch before we continued our pilgrimage.  Incidentally, I could probably write a separate blog on our meals alone; and the conversations; and the fellow pilgrims we met each time we dined.  It was the best food, the best service and the best fellowship, sharing and conversation ever. And it was always first class!  I can't say enough about the meals and opportunities we had to meet and get to know our fellow pilgrims. 

So I can't remember if I talked about 'Holy Doors' for the year of Mercy.  If you weren't aware, there were three Holy Doors in our Diocese.  One was in Portland, one was in Medford, and I can't remember where the other one was.  But each time you walked through a Holy Door, and met the criteria set forth by Pope Francis, one could receive a plenary indulgence.  The following link explains this a little better:

Jubilee of Mercy Plenary Indulgence

On this pilgrimage, we had the opportunity to walk through, I believe, four Holy Doors.  St. Paul Outside the Walls was one of those Holy Doors.  So, once inside, the beauty and breathtaking architecture was second only to the reverence that we all felt as we entered each one of these most important Basilica's.  Following are my picture memories...

There were portraits of all the popes above the arches

Below: The apse mosaic was made by Venetian artists. 

Christ is flanked by the Apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and Luke.

 

Below is the tabernacle inside St. Paul Outside the Wall Basilica

 

One of the altars inside the Basilica

Below is where the burial tomb of St. Paul is. . .

Click the following link for more information about this tomb.

Tomb of St. Paul

Below is the chain that, according to the most ancient tradition, attached the Apostle Paul to the Roman soldier assigned to guard him while in prison in Rome.  It is the most precious relic on display in this chapel. 

So the next photo's you will see are of our bus ride to the catacombs of St. Callixtus.  I'm going to show you lots of photo's, but keep in mind, we were not allowed to take photos when we were in the catacombs, so I'm including a link below:

The following quote is taken from the website: 

"The catacombs of St. Callixtus are among the greatest and most important of Rome.

They originated about the middle of the second century and are part of a cemeterial complex which occupies an area of 90 acres, with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than twenty meters deep.  In it were buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes and very many Christians.

They are named after the deacon Callixtus who, at the beginning of the third century, was appointed by pope Zephyrinus as the administrator of the cemetery and so the catacombs of St. Callixtus became the official cemetery of the Church of Rome."

Clicking on the link below, you can learn more about the catacombs and see a photo.  The photo is pretty close to what we saw throughout the tunnels and underground pathways of our visit.  It really was an experience that I will never forget. 

St. Callixtus Catacombs

So as promised, here are the photo's of our trip to the catacombs after lunch.  We were in the front seat, so got some pretty fun pics just to show you the countryside, etc.  

Pictured below as we were waiting for our turn to enter the catacombs is Jeanne, my roommate, our amazing tour guide and another pilgrim.   Looks like it was a good time to check our phones (or maybe take a couple pictures).

After we completed our tour of the catacombs, it was back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Ristorante Da Meo Patacca for pizza!

Check out this link:

ristorante Da Meo Patacca

Whew!  It was a long eventful day, so after dinner, we all slept well since we had to be up and ready to go at 6:15 am on Wednesday the 9th.  I believe that will be Pope day.... yea!!