Rome

Rome was a sensational experience—in all five aspects of what that term can mean. It was also a busy time, with planning how to move about the city and maximize our time with the vast number of places to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. We returned to our apartment on the 6th floor, via the sturdy flights of marble stairs leading up to it, each night fulfilled and exhausted. We posted some photos along the way, but our pace did not make possible much time for writing.

Here are a some of our adventures of note:

• Upon our arrival in Rome late Saturday evening, we shared a shuttle van from the airport with a young family from Lebanon, who came to Rome to have their one year old daughter baptized.  The mother was of French descent, and spoke fluently in French.    Since Katherine is a French major, she was able to communicate with them, and we learned that their daughter, Giovanna, was to be baptized early the next morning, and we wished them a blessed experience and safe travels.

·        Early on June 24^th, I set out for St. Peter’s Basilica. This is the Feast Day for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and also the anniversary of my ordination. Our plans for Tuesday included an afternoon visit to the Vatican Museum (when the crowds are supposed to be lighter) and tickets needed to be purchased ahead of time.  I used the ticket buying errand as an opportunity to spend some time in the Church. The scale, proportion and detail of the basilica are breathtaking. It was also a challenging place—even with smaller, early morning crowds—to find a quiet place to sit or kneel. There are occasional groups gathered in various side chapels for celebrations of Holy Eucharist, Holy Baptism, and prayers.

  

Eventually, I noticed one side chapel which was open for individuals who simply wanted to be still and pray. There was a long line to enter the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. When it finally became my turn, the guards had to redirect traffic to permit a procession of clergy and laity from another chapel. After some re-direction and patience, I finally discovered a quiet spot in the back of the chapel. This is life, after all, working to find the quiet places and times that we need in the midst of everything else.

Altogether, it was a great beginning to an important day for me—eight years after I knelt in Trinity Cathedral in Columbia, and was ordained to serve Christ and his Church.

·        On Wednesday morning—June 25^th, we ventured out early in order to arrive on time for our reserved visit to Galleria Borghese (and to practice for our even earlier wake-up call of 5:30 a.m. on Thursday to catch the train for Naples). This Museum requires reservations days in advance. They only make a relatively small number of tickets available, and they strictly enforce a 2-hour limit on visitors in order to permit all of their patrons an opportunity to experience the artwork without the crowds which can make museum visits unmanageable and unpleasant.

The cardinal who owned this villa several hundred years ago intended to show that the art of the Renaissance was every bit the equal of the sculptural and artistic accomplishments from antiquity. Consequently, even if this grand Italian villa were devoid of any sculptures or framed paintings, the frescoes that filled the walls and ceilings (and the mosaics across the floors) would be persuasive enough. Yet, this 3-story villa set within an amazing and enormous park is filled, brim-full, with spectacular creations from some of the most gifted artists of all time.

Without a doubt, this was the most incredible art museum experience I have ever had. I have visited larger museums, and more diverse collections; but never such a delicious feast for the eyes in such a grand setting and with the chance to draw near so many excellent works and experience them intimately. Our entire family was blown away by the experience!

Apollo’s pursuit of Daphne (by Bernini) is so dynamic that—hours later—the memory felt more like it was theater than stone! Bernini’s David is likewise intense enough to leave any viewer baffled at how someone could infuse so much emotion and action into a piece of marble.

One room of the villa included some outstanding works of Caravaggio. His depiction of St. Jerome translating the Greek manuscripts into Latin (with the relic skull of some saint serving as a paperweight) is amazing. I am especially fond of his rendering of St. John the Baptist as a boy, imagining him as a shepherd with a red cloak that foretells his bloody future. Caravaggio also painted David holding the head of Goliath. The disembodied head serving as a self-portrait. The large Madonna dei Palafrenieri canvas included a coiled serpent under the foot of both Jesus and Mary, a sign that the 2^nd Adam would conquer the tempter’s power.

As if this was not enough, we also visited the Church of St. Maria del Poppolo, which we found in a nearby piazza within walking distance. In a single, side chapel of this Church hangs both The Crucifixion of St. Peter and The Conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio. They are both bigger-than-life, and leave a larger-than-life impression on any faithful viewer!

After this sensational morning, we began trekking toward the Spanish Steps, a popular piazza in the north of the city. A light rain began to fall, so we ducked into the first restaurant we saw in a tiny alley. We walked down several clusters of stairs—left, then right, then straight ahead—into a well-lit cellar. We were rewarded with some of the freshest, most delicious food of our trip to Italy.

By the end of lunch, the rain had ceased, and we walked on (we were really good at that now).  We discovered the piazza and enjoyed seeing a grand staircase, and the impressive surroundings of stucco and stone, color, and light, that give shape to the Eternal City.

In the midst of the crowds, one of our girls said, “Hey, look! It’s the family from the airport!” We crossed the square, laughing to have reconnected with this family in the huge city of Rome. We saw pictures of Giovanna’s baptism in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday morning, and we enjoyed seeing each other again. Jennifer, the wife and mother, said she had literally just told her husband, “I bet we see the family from South Carolina here at the Spanish Steps!” And you’ll never guess Giovanna’s birthday—June 24^th! Her name is inspired by the saint whose traditional birthday is celebrated by the Church precisely six months before his cousin, Jesus—St. John the Baptist!

In the midst of such a beautiful day of sacred art and sculpture, I was reminded yet again of the catholicity of the Church—the universality of the Church. The day that I celebrate as a special reminder of my ordination in South Carolina—June 24^th—is the same day that inspired the name—Giovanna—of one of the newest members of Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church who lives in Beirut!

We are knit together in this Body, just as St. Paul described after his conversion when he wrote to the Corinthians and the Colossians. The one who was blinded when he fell from his horse on the road to Damascus was given eyes to see more clearly what all this means, and—like St. John the Baptist—to point us in the direction of Christ so that we can see too!