I met Cardinal Sean O'Malley today

Deacon Riley Williams and I just returned from dinner. We decided to walk down to St. Peter's Sqaure, cross it, and go to a street filled with restaurants, including one called Osteria Mozzone - a family-run place that is beyond all the more tourist places. We really wanted to see what was going on at the Piazza. As we approached the Piazza, we were met by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston. He was very pleased to see us. We had a nice chat. He asked me, "When did you arrive in Rome?", I answered, "February 13, Your Emminence. I am in the sabbatical program at the NAC". I told him a bit more of my program and the Lilly Grant. After he congratulated Riley on his upcoming ordination, we continued on our way to the restaurant.

After a lovely dinner, and solving all the problems of the church, we started back to the NAC.

STOP!!!!!

All the streets that would take us back towards the Gianicolo Hill where the NAC is located are closed. People are approaching the barricades in a swarm. Many Italians police speak English and French. Almost none speak Polish. Now Riley and I have to backtrack, walk all the way around the Castel St. Angelo - a circuitous route about one mile longer than we need to. All the way, we are climbing over people lying in sleeping bags across the sidewalks ready to spend the night. These people are not going to get any closer than this. I can only imagine the rush of people as they are allowed to enter the Square tomorrow morning.

I have a ticket into the beatification which must be supported with a picture ID - my passport has to come with me in the morning. And the weather is unstable. I am seriously considering, as are many of the priests here, whether 6 hours in the rain, ending up with a soaking wet cassock, will gain us any graces.

We'll see.

Earlier today, I participated in the last of our Institute field trips - the Basilica of San Sebastiano and the Cistercian Abbey of Tre Fontane. The tradition says that Tre-Fontane is the location of the beheading of St. Paul. The tradition also says that after he was killed, his head rolled down a hill, bouncing three times. At each place where his head landed on the ground, a fresh water spring welled up. The three springs still run beneath the church built to mark Paul's execution and the remarkable phenomenon.

This is the typically simple structure of a Cistercian Abbey Church. Liz Lev, the art historian who has directed many of our tours spoke of this church some weeks ago. As we looked at all the baroque churches with marble exteriors and richly decorated interiors of marble, mosaics, and frescoes, she told us about this Abbey Church of Tre. Fontane. If you strip away all the marble, mosaics, and frescoes, what you get is Tre-Fontane. Most of the churches in Rome started their life as a brick structure to which all the decoration was added.

Next to the Abbey Church is the later baroque church built over the three fountains or springs brought to surface by the bouncing of St. Paul's head on the ground.

The sanctuary of the church of the Tre-Fontane.

We celebrated Mass together in this church. Our celebrant today was Monsignor Robert Lawrence, who today, marked his 45th Anniversary of ordination to Priesthood.

Monsignor Robert Lawrence of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania celebrating Mass on the 45th Anniversary of priesthood. Ad Multo Annos!

In his thoughtful homily, Msgr. Lawrence spoke of how Rome was the place where the faith and culture of the 1st century world came together in the persons of Peter and Paul, and in the community which formed under their leadership and teaching. One an undecated Jewish fisherman, the other, an intellectual and Roman citizen. In this city, they met the same fate - martyrdom for Christ as each one proclaimed the good news of the risen Lord. From this city, the faith was spread throughout the world. Our sabbatical program in the city of Rome brought together a diverse group of priests devoted to proclaiming the same message of Peter and Paul. And from this city we will return to our homes and parishes where the work of spreading the good news will continue.
Thanks, Bob.

The mosaic in the apse of the church

Next we moved onto San Sebastiano:
It is one of the famous seven churches of St. Philip Neri, who began the practice of visiting the seven churches as a lenten devotion. St. Sebastian is a 1st century martyr, a centurion of the Roman arny who converted to Christianity. For this he was martyred by the archers of his own regiment. He was buried  here in the catacombs over which the basilica was built. Now his remains have been placed in the altar of a chapel in the basilica that bears his name.

San Sebastiano

The side chapel where Saint Sebastian' body lies for the devotion of the curch.

The basilica contains two significant works of art. The first is the sculpture of San Sebastian lying in death. It is located in the base of the altar above his tomb. The concept for this statue and the initial drawings of the design are by Bernini. The statue was carved by his student, Giorgietti.

The Body of San Sebastian, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, carved by his student Giorgietti.

Also in the basilica is the sculpture of a bust of Jesus, called "Il Salvatore". This was done by Bernini himself.

"Il Salvatore" by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

After visiting the Abbey and the Basilica, we stopped at an Italian National Monument marking atrocities from WW II. It is the site of a mass grave of 335 Italian civilians who were executed after the Italian underground resistance killed 32 german troops.  The civilians were rounded up at random, many were Jews, and one priest, some as young as 14, and shot at this site of a quarry. Because the young german soldiers who were to perfrom the excutions had troubled conscineces about this act, their officers gave them liquor. Unfortunately, it reduced the accuracy of their firing. Many of the victims were merely wounded. The bodies, some still alive were thrown into the quarry, and the quarry was detonated, burying the victims. Shortly after the war, the site was excavated, and eveidence shows clearly that not all had died before the quarry was caved in. Pope Pius XII dedicated this site in 1948.

Monument at Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeantine

Underground passages where the bodies of 335 Italian civilians were buried.

The Mausoleum.
 Most of the victims havebeen identified, but some, like the first one on the left labeled "ignoto" remain nameless.

Our day continued with much more joy than the tombs and mausolea that filled our morning.

The final banquet of our Institute.

Gathering at the restaurant "Cecilia Metella"

At table

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The rest of us.

Seated at the head of the table.

Carol Salfa, the Institute's Secretary

Fr. Mike Wensing, the Institute Director. This will be Fr. Mike's last semester. He is returning to his diocese in South Dakota.

Hoping for nice weather tomorrow for the beatication of Pope John Paul II.
Say a prayer.

I think I'm ready to perform.

I've been alone here at the Casa O'Toole with the other priests gone to Assisi for 5 days.

I spent the time practicing and I think I am ready. There are still passages which will require some serious concentration, but I will manage I think.

I practiced mostly in the mornings and had the afternoons to myself. Yesterday, I went to the Capitoline Museum. It is one of the major municipal museums of Rome. The collections were mostly donated by Italian nobility, Popes, cardinals, and private families. It is fascinating to read about how these sculptures were discovered buried under rubble and revealed when they were doing construction, or excavations of other sites.

I have a few other pictures to post here tonight

The Casa O'Toole, where I have been residing for 3 months.

My room is fourth from the left on the 4th floor.

The seminarians' garden. Grape vines, and assorted vegetables, with tables and chairs for quiet study and rest.

The seminary building. That small box extending from the building towards the playing field is a 300 seat auditorium. Just to give you an idea of the scale of this place.

The road leading up to the Casa O'Toole. The main seminary building is to the right.

Today, after practicing, I walked down to St. Peter's Square. The huge crowds are already in Rome, and more arriving by the hour. The beatification on Sunday will be huge. There are festivities starting already. The Circus Maximus, the site of the ancient Roman track, will the site tomorrow night of a candlelight vigil. The square is already buzzing with activity. There a lift trucks, moving equipment, technicians of all kinds working to get everything set up. Huge banners are haging from the colonade. I don't know if my pictures will be adquate but here goes.

This is the scaffolding covering the restoration project of Bernini's colonade. Even that is decorated.

The huge portrait of John Paul II beside one of his frequent sayings, "Splancate le porte a Cristo", (Open wide the doors for Christ)

The altar being prepared.



The view of the altar I will hopefully have on Sunday morning.



The section of seating for priests.

Look for me somewhere in here.

As I walked around St. Peter's Square, I came across and exhibit that I did not know was going to happen. Pope Benedict XVI sponsored this exhibit of memoribilia of Pope John Paul II. It was a great exhibit including some of his books, letters, and films of him as a young priest on camping trips. There are going to be some very unusual relics of this new blessed man, and God willing, new saint.

Pope John Paul II's kayak.

His skis, daypack and waterbottle.

His bicycle. It was right out in the open, atteched to the wall. But people could grab the handlebars, and many rubbing the leather seat.

The prie-dieu and painting of Jesus from his private chapel.

The cope and stole he wore when he opened the jubilee door in the year 2000.

As the line moved through the exhibit, there was book for prayer intentions. So I stood in line to make an entry.

I'm not sure how this book will be used, but a prayer intention for me, my family, and St. John Neumann Parish is now included among the hundreds of thousands of other prayers that will fill this book.

I'm Glad this picture came out.

It's a busy weekend coming up. Although the beatification of Pope John Paul II was not part of the original ICTE agenda, it is a terrific way to bring this portion of my sabbatical experience to a close. One of the many unexpected treats of this six months.

Practicing this week.

Well the Holy Week is over and we are into the Easter Season. The churches are still beautifully decorated. Easter Monday is an Italian holiday. All church offices and many businesses close for the day. So the city was quiet yesterday.

The Casa O'Toole is quiet too. All the priests have gone to Assisi. As I shared with you before, I opted to remain behind. I have been to Assisi a few times before and I have made an extended retreat before coming to Rome. I have made arrangements to return to La Sainte-Baume at the end of June before returning home. I figured this would be a good opportunity to take the time for my final preparations for the Ischia Chamber Music Festival. The seminary is also on break, so it is quiet there too. At Pranzo today there were only 8 table; there are usually about 35. The seminarians are traveling.

I have gotten 4 - 5 hours of pacticingt yesterday and today. The weather has not been copperative, so I have taken advantage of the rainy days and the readily available pianos (there are several pianists among the students who all try to get some practicing done each day.) The remainder of the week should be drier and I will work at the piano in the mornings, and after pranzo, head out into the city to visit some museums that I did not get to, The Capitoline, the Corsini, and Doria-Pamphyllia. Its about 7PM right now and the sky seems to be clearing somewhat. I may venture out for a bit of dinner.

Thanks everyone for the e-mails wishing me a Happy Easter. It was great to hear from folks. And of course everyone was raving about the Triduum and Easter Sunday celebration at St. John Neumann. I hope there are lots of pictures.

Continued blessings of the Easter Season to everyone.
Fr. Rick

"The Lord is risen! It is true!

Happy Easter Everyone.

After the Vigil last night, it was a late night. The Easter Vigil lasted 3 hours - 9pm to midnight. After the Vigil we all returned to the Casa O'Toole where some traditional Italian sweet bread and digestivi (assorted liquors) were waiting for us.

This morning, it was ack to St. Peter's Basilica for Easter Sunday morning.

Here are a few pictures of the before and after. There were no pictures during the Mass.

The main aisle created across St. Peter's Sqaure leading up to the altar. A message for Ray Galuska: There are some great ideas I picked up for future decorations.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica. It is strange being in there with no crowds. As I was making my way to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to vest for service as a Eucharistic Minister at the Mass, Fr. Joe Porpiglia got this photo of me standing many feet away from the high altar under which is the tomb of St. Peter. 

A closer view of the high altar decorated for Easter.

The Mass was a beautiful celebration. The piazza was filled. Seminarians who were in the crowd said that the crowds went all the way back to the Tiber River along the Via di Conciliazione. This is the lasrge avenue that leads into St. Peter's Square.

After Mass we were passing through the basilica as the Holy Father was moving to take his position in the loggia above the main door of the church for his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter message. (translated as "city and the world")

After Mass, I returned to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to return the ciborium with the hosts, and to return the Vatican issued surplice and stole. That is when I was detained in the basilica to wait for the Holy Father to pass. When I was allowed to exit the basilica, I went to a place in the square to wait for the pope to come out onto the loggia.

The Holy Father greeting the crowds at the end of Mass. He generally does not give a homily during the Easter Mass, but waits until this time. He gave his Easter Message and then his tradition Easter greeting, "The Lord is risen! He is truly risen" This message is given in dozens of languages from all aver the world.

Here are a few other views of the square from where I was standing.

The facade of St. Peter's Basilica and the Pope in the loggia.

Some of the crowds in Piazza San Pietro

View into St. Peter's Square.

The Swiss guard with the crowds behind.

After the festivities at St. Peter's I returned to the college with the other priests and seminarians for pronzo. There were several tables of guests, mostly family memebers of the seminarians who had come to Rome for an Easter visit.

After pronzo, I took my reposo. It had been a short night of sleep and three-hour Mass was exciting but tiring. At around 6PM went to the room of one of my colleagues. He has one of the rooms with a balcony. This has become a usual spot for a bit of happy hour before dinner each day. We gathered there while the sun went down with a great show of color. The view to St. Peter's from there is breathtaking.

The view from Fr. Mike Carter's balcony.

Sunset on St. Peter's and Holy Week 2011.





Happy Easter Everyone.
My prayer for all of you is that the blessings of this Holiest of Weeks, The triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, his passion, death and resurrection, remain with us always.

Sacred Triduum

It is Holy Saturday. The windows are wide open in my room and city of Rome seems very quiet today. I usually hear traffic up the Via Gianicolo, just beyond the wall. Last night, I attended the celebration of the Lord's Passion at St. Peter's Basilica. There are no pictures from last night. I was running a bit late. Sopme of the priests were waiting for me and so I forgot the camera. Even so, there would have very limited opportunity to take pictures.

All the priests who were invited to distribute Holy Communion were again gathered in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The tabernacle was still dcorated with all the candles and flowers. (There was a white Hydrangea with a fuller flower and crinkled edges to the petals. I have never seen them before. I made a mental note to check out the florists when I get home to locate a supply of them.) The fathers were much lest talkative, and were seated in a spirit of prayer and reflection. Not a good setting for standing and clicking cameras. After a short while, the cardinals - about 20 of them - joined us in the chapel as they were preparing to vest for the liturgy.

We walked out into the basilica and this time, I was seated behind the altar with a completely obstructed view of the Holy Father. His chair was placed along the side of the nave at the base of one the pillars supporting the dome. Just about where I was seated for Holy Thursday. So I thought it would be tedious. But then came the chanting of the Passion. I could not see any of the deacons, or the choir - only the glorious sound of the chanting resonnating in the vast space of St. Peter's

The highlight of the service was the chanting of the Passion of John. Three deacons and the choir joined in the proclamation of the Passion. When it came time for the crowds to speak, the choir sang full voice in at least 6 parts. The chanting by the three deacons was unbelievable. Everything I has learned in music school about the origin of harmony in music was happening. In the days when single line chant was sung in large open spaces, it was noticed that the echo would provide harmony as various ptiches were sung into the space. Tonight, the lines of the chant would end with a descending three-note pattern and the building's acoustics returned a perfectly tuned three-note chord. I'm still getting chills from the experience. Unfortunately it is a combination of "you had to be there" and "familiarity with history of music." In the chant setting, the narrator was a baritone, Jesus was a bass and the voices sung by a tenor.

As I followed the line of Eucharistic Ministers, I was given a place in the center aisle. The rows were occupied by several bishops, and major superiors of religious orders. After I gave them Holy Communion, I went to the back of the church and there, distributed communion to the faithful. Again, a powerful experience of young people, parents holding children, the many religious - a huge crowd with a great reverence; the act of receiving the Lord while standing in the one of the most amazing places on earth, doing one of the simplest gestures on earth.

As I was leaving the Blessed Sacrament chapel, the service was just about to end. I said to one of the priests, "I wish I knew what route the Holy Father will take as he leaves the basilica." One of the Swiss guards was standing close enough to hear me, and said, "Father, follow me" He took us all the way the back of the basilica. The crowds parted like the Red Sea before Moses. He pointed to a railing that was still vacant. Then he said, "don't move from here". In about 10 minutes, I was 6 feet away from Pope Benedict.

Back at the seminary, it was a light supper of the traditional Italian tuna salad with white beans. A quiet evening of reading and bit of online research.

It is now 4:00PM Rome time on Holy Saturday. I spent about 5 hours practicing today. Im going to rest a bit and get ready to go to St. Peter's for the Great Vigil.

I sent home some incense which I bought in Jerusalem. Fr. Rodney plans on using it at the Easter Vigil at St. John Neumann. A little way of my being there with you.
Blessings everyone.

Holy Thursday in Rome

Today began with a concelebration with Pope Benedict at the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. A few of the Institute priests discussed and we are making an educated guess of about 2 - 3 thousand priests.

Oh, and by the way, I got there too late to hear the no pictures instructions. I decided I would take some until someone came over to tell me not to.

Here they are.



Priests lined up in the narthex to enter the Basilica



Processing into the Basilica

Going up to the altar of God

Pope Benedict processing to the altar.

Beginning the Mass

The oils being brought up the aisle. The urns are too big to carry so they are moved on a wheeled table.

Some of the views of the basilica from my seat.

More views

Looking up into the dome. The letters encircling the dome are 7 feet high.

Pope Benedict in the recessional.

The Mass was a thrill to concelebreate. We did the renewal of priestly promises, led by the Holy Father.

Tonight I attended the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casa Santa Maria. This is the residence for US priests who are living in Rome to complete a doctorate or other advanced degrees. After Mass, Father Stan from Cleveland, and I went to dinner. After a nice meal of pasta, we started to visit churches with the intention of visiting 7 churches. I have to say we made it to 5. I was praying for our youth group and friends who are doing the "7 to 99" tonight. Most of the churches were closing by 10PM. But we did go into some beautiful churches. The crowds of people, and especially young people visiting the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was inspiring. Wemade it to the Chuch of the Sacred Heart in the Piazza Navona, St. Louis de France, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, La Chiesa Nuova, and San Giovanni di Fiorentini.
When we realized that we would probably not find any more open churches, we decided it was time for gelato. We made our way to one of our favorite spots on the Via di Governo Vecchio. While we were walking, we were beside a group of American students. We overheard them talking about a great gelato spot. So we picked up the pace and got there just before them. We were ordering our gelato when they all piled into the shop behind us. I said to Fr. Stan in a stage whisper, "I told you they were heading for here". They all laughed. After we all had our coppa, we were standing around on the street talking. It turns out they are all 3rd year students at Notre Dame in Indiana. They are all on study abroad programs throughout Europe. The one student studying in Rome knew about this shop. And this is the best part. They made arrangements to all meet here in Rome for this weekend to attend the Sacred Triduum services with the Pope. There are about 14 of them. So we had a great chat. One young lady, Michelle, wants to come to the Boston College Law School in a couple of years. They have tickets to attend Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square. We told them we will be distributing Holy Communion and to wave if they see us.

Tomorrow is a quiet day. I will not set an alarm clock tomorrow. After a bit of breakfast, I will go down to the college to practice for a while. We must report to St. Peter's by 4pm to prepare for the Service of the Lord's Passion with the Holy Father.

In the midst of the beautiful liturgy, I have to admit, I was taken by a bit homesickness. We celebrate the Triduum well at St. John Neumann - parts are even better than at St. Peter's in Rome. So I was thinking about what will be happening in East Freetown in a few hours. It is midnight here; 6PM at home. I am certain preparations are underway to gather the people at 7:00PM.

Be assured that my prayers are with you all. Part of my heart is really in East Freetown this weekend.
Blessings everyone.