Italy Day 3 Roamin' Rome
Today was a little bit of a challenge, as I thought I had it perfectly planned, but as always something goes perfectly wrong. Thankfully we were able to visit everything we planned with the exception of the catacombs which I heard is very kool, but became unfeasible as the day progressed due to some back tracking. We began the day at Santa Sopra Minvera where St. Catherine of Sienna lays at rest.
This was an important place for me considering, I printed a special holy card for her, that I wanted to place on her tomb, and bring back to the states for a local parish since her feast day is April 29.
From there we tried to visit some other churches, but unfortunately at noon they closed, something I didn't fully anticipate as I researched. After a visit to the Pantheon and a couple closed doors, we "roamed" around to the Colosseum where we stopped for lunch at a tourist trap, our only fail when it's come to food so far.
The pizza was great, if it was only cheese, but the rest of the food we ordered was ok as you can tell by the 1 piece of topping on the whole pizza. I was hoping for better since it was on a side street, but the Colosseum area seemed to be loaded with mediocre places.
From there we made a visit to the Colosseum since it is one of the great sites in Rome. A fun moment which included crossing paths with a Lebanese woman we met sitting next to us yesterday at lunch (ironically my only moment of crossing paths with anyone here so far). We happened to see her on our way, and I literally bumped into her, and when she said i'm sorry, her English struck a cord. I looked and it was her. Monica and I went back to say hello, to her surprise.
At this point we felt confident the churches would be reopened at 4 pm, and began to back track. First we went to Santa Maria in Aracoeli, where St. Helen was laid in rest. This is my home parish in Charlotte, N.C. and I had some special holy cards for them as well that I wanted to lay on her tomb to bring them a 3rd class relic and some connection to Rome. I wanted ask St. Helen to pray for them as well, and I lit a candle in honor of that prayer.
We continued onto he Basilica of St. Augustine where we went to visit St. Monica. We were visiting here because it was Monica's namesake and it was a thank you to her as well on my behalf, since my step mom was very devoted to seeking her intercession when I was astray, in hope I would one day find my way, just as St. Monica's son, St Augustine did. We happened to walk in, while a priest and his parents from Wisconsin were having a private mass.
We closed out the day visiting the beloved Our Lady of Perpetual Help original icon which is housed in San Alphonso in Rome. I have grown devoted to this image due to my relationship with the Redemptorist priest in America, and their constant influence on my ministry. We were able to attend mass here and say a prayer for all those who have a devotion to this icon.
After that found some great places to eat, which included a visit to Morgana's which was on a side street after some good searching, and then Monica found all types of great desserts at Panella (unfortunately I forgot to take pics here). In the morning we will head out and end our time in Rome. Along the way, I plan to see my cousin Sergio who just happened to be in Rome, but out of town. We will see him for lunch on our way to Siena and the Tuscany region.
