I 9th Day Pilgrimage to Rome

9.5.02.
Margaret and I went to Mass at the Franciscan Church. Most of the
others had gone to St. Isidore's.
At 9 am we went to Cook's which had just opened. Some of our group had
gone to Assisi for the day.
This was our last day which Margaret and I spent on our own.

At about 10 am we caught a four-basilica bus to St. Peter's and looked
at that part of the basilica which
we had not previously seen. We bought tickets and went into the
Treasury where all the priceless
vestments, chalices and other articles are kept. Many of them were very
ancient. When we came out
of here, we kissed the toe of St. Peter's statue. Many others were
doing the same thing. The toe is
worn away by the number of people who have kissed it.
After ascending the stairs to the roof of St. Peter's, we ascended many
further flights of narrow, winding
steps to the top of the gigantic dome. From there we had a wonderful
view of the Vatican gardens and
the whole of Rome. By the time we came down it was almost lunch-time
and so we had to forgo
visiting Castel Sant"Angelo which was our original intention.

We had therefore to take our last look at St. Peter's.
St. Peter's which extends the arms of its magnificent colonnade to give
shelter to a multitude will always
be dear to our hearts. The two magnificent fountains as one of our
party quoted "Like the ever-flowing
streams of sacramental grace" are memorable. St. Peter's Square is the
largest in the world and to us,
will always be more beautiful than any. We are lucky to have stood
within the shadow of St. Peter's
dome, on this sacred ground at the very centre of the Catholic Church
on Earth, this place where St.
Peter died. To the many millions who have never seen it but regard it
as we do, it seems, figuratively
speaking, to extend its massive and beautiful colonnade, welcoming and
encircling the whole world.

In the afternoon Margaret and I wanted to visit some churches and to do
some shopping but found that
everywhere was shut until about 4 o'clock. Eventually at 4 o'clock we
visited the Church of San
Silvestro, then did some shopping in Upims, a shop which is similar to
Woolworth's, and then went on
to San Ignazio which we had previously found shut and went in for the
end of Benediction. There is
a marvellous ceiling painting.

On our way home we noticed another church in Piazza San Silvestro and
decided to go in. We found
that Rosary and Benediction was just starting. As it was mostly in
Latin, we were able to follow it.
After the Rosary, Margaret and I went out, thinking it was 7.30 pm, but
as we discovered it was only
6.30 pm we re-entered. A priest had just finished giving a short
address in Italian and the Litany of Our
Lady was sung mostly solo by the priest, except for every fourth line
which was sung by the
congregation. The priest singing this had one of the most beautiful
voices I had ever heard. During the
service there was Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament which continued
after it was over. It must have
been the Forty Hours' Devotion in this church. We stayed until the end.
It was beautiful.

Finding that the time was then about 7.30 pm we went to the Franciscan
Church near Cook's as we
wanted to visit the chapels in which there were the bones of the
Capuchin monks. Benediction was in
progress when we arrived. Not having time to stay to this, we walked
down through the side altars and
downstairs.
following some other people. A monk was guiding these, speaking
Italian. We saw the bones
completely covering the walls of the four chapels and the fifth one,
the only one devoid of them
containing an altar. We then had to hurry back to our hotel and arrived
just in time for dinner.