Brom goes to church

Coocoo

Well, we didn't just go to church once. Or twice, or thrice. In fact we went four times! We visited four different churches and actually attended a service in one of them as well!

The first three Popes
Saint Peter, Saint Linus and Saint Cletus

The very first church we visited on Saturday was Saint Paul's outside the gates. It is a Vatican basilica, but outside the city gates. In fact it isn't even that close to the Vatican itself and it took us nearly an hour by bus to get there! 

The last four Popes
Pope John Paul, Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis

Inside the church there were pictures of all the Popes right up to now, starting with Saint Peter who is generally accepted as being the first Pope and ending with the current one: Pope Francis who originally hails from Argentina. As there were mostly no pictures of Popes during the early years, or at least none have survived, those Popes were all modeled on Saint Peter, with little differences between each. We even found our 'own' Dutch Pope: Adrian IV.

The Friesian flag in the Friesian Church

On Sunday we went to visit the church of Saint Michael and Saint Magnus, for the Dutch more commonly known as the Friesian Church. It is located within the Vatican and we attended the service there, which was a Roman Catholic service, but in Dutch. Afterwards we wanted to see the Pope, but we only heard the last words of his blessing, the square being chock-a-block and impossible to get onto.

Saint Bonifacius, one of the missionaries who tried to bring Christianity to the Friesians.
They killed him in 685 aD

On Monday we were not planning on visiting a church at all, but the tour through the catacombs of Saint Sebastian on the Via Appia ended in the church itself and it was a lovely church. They are always completely different from what Mara and Gera are used to. Having always attended Protestant churches, they are quite austere compared to Roman Catholic ones. 

Part of the ceiling in the Basilica of Saint Sebastian

The last church or basilica we visited wasn't on our list either and even when we were right in front of it, we nearly didn't enter. Until I told those two girls, they had better get in, despite their aching legs and knees and toes. This time it was the Basilica of Saint Peter, right in the middle of the Vatican. We had visited the Necropolis underneath to see where Saint Peter had been buried way back when and now we went into the big church on top.

Basilica of Saint Peter
The five people on the front were canonized on October 13th

It was beautiful. It was big, like really really really big. There were statues everywhere, paintings and people. Mara said to me just now how it didn't feel like a place for quiet contemplation though, which she had felt more in the other three churches. It was just too much of everything. 

This image was repeated quite often on the marble pillars

Well, too much or not, I loved to see all those churches. As I loved to see everything else as well, because you know I love traveling and seeing new things. Another time I will tell you more about what else we saw...

This image of the Road to Crucifixion was found in the Pantheon

PS: I nearly forgot, we didn't just see four churches on the inside, we saw five! The Pantheon is another one we visited. It started off as a temple of Pagan Gods, but once Christianity took hold, it was modified to a church. I just never want to visit it when it rains, as it has a big hole in the roof! Mara says that is how it's supposed to be, but I am not so sure. 

The Altar in the Pantheon

M is for...

Maria

When I was in Rome the very first time (2007), I also visited the Vatican. After my group had gone off to wander the streets of Rome a bit more, I still hung around the square in front of Saint Peter. There were fences everywhere and people were gathering alongside those fences. The majority of those people was female and they were all wearing flowers, special shirts, special scarves and tears in their eyes. So, I got myself a good spot and waited, because what else can you do?

After an hour or so the tension was mounting. The speakers blared Ave Maria over and over and women were crying and chanting along. And then, all of a sudden, a helicopter appeared. The women got into a frenzy now, trying to get the best spot to see. I let some of them stand in front of me (on account of them being on the smaller side), but they hardly had time to thank me, because it was coming!

Now, I still didn't know what was coming, but it was great to see it all unfold. Underneath the helicopter was a statue! After the statue was brought to earth safely, the procession started. Now, any Catholics out there, please forgive me if I don't know which is which, but in some order there arrived Choirboys, Priests, Cardinals, Chaplains and after they had all passed, the women (and men). In one big line towards Saint Peter for a special Mass!

Right before everybody disappeared however, I grabbed hold of one of them and asked who and what. In 1917, at the height of the Great War, two children were playing when all of a sudden they saw a statue of Maria weep. It made headlines of course and the town where it happened (Fatima in Portugal) became a place of pilgrimage. Ninety years later, the fact that Maria had weeped was celebrated in the Vatican!

For more M words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

Italy

The Swiss Guards. The former army of the Pope, they are now mostly ceremonial I believe. They still guard the Vatican though.

A Fiat 500. As you can see, it's not one of the bigger cars in the world (it would probably fit four times in one Hummer). This one was also quite severely dented, but it looks so cute!

The Trevi Fountain. Probably one of the most famous fountains in the world and it was heaving there. Quite difficult to take a nice photo and I never had the chance to throw a coin over my left shoulder so I could wish to return...

Radishes on the sorting belt. There were radishes everywhere!

One of the statues on the Piazza Signoria in Florence. If you biggify you can see the standing figure holding the head of the other one!

Ponte Vecchio in Florence. A lot of bridges used to have houses and shops on them and some remain (Venice and Bath, England for example). Most of the shops on this bridge are now jeweller's shops.

Shuffle

Today was an easy day, all I had to do was pretend I'm a tourist! Not too hard when you are in sunny Rome and sitting somewhere in the back of the bus instead of in front. First off, we went to see the Vatican. As usual, the Pope wasn't home (I don't think he likes me, he's never there when I am), but we did get to see where Pope John Paul II was buried. We also saw the church, which I found a little disappointing. I think I had expected a lot more over-the-topness. So, it really was a pleasant surprise that it wasn't so.

After lunch we did a short tour in the bus, but it was really hard to take photos. I can empathise with the passengers now: not a decent shot to be made! After the short tour, we went back out on the street and shuffled around some more. Trevi fountain (and no, I didn't throw a coin in), the Pantheon and of course lovely Italian ice-cream. Mmmm...

I've taken in the sun today: result is of course sunburn on both my back and my front. My face looks healthy and I feel good. If only the mosquito bites would magically disappear... That would just be fantastic.

Tomorrow it's the turn for the radishes, as we will be visiting a radish farm somewhere south of Rome. I don't like radishes, but for the sake of education, I might even try one!