Awkward and Awesome: Rome Edition

Awesome:

1. Getting tickets for the last papal audience on February 27th!
2. My trip to Vienna this weekend. I'm going with all my German class buddies, so we're going to try and make Frau Dr. E. proud! It's also supposed to be snowing, which will be fabulous.
3. Blood Orange flavored Fanta- so wonderful. Why don't we have blood orange flavored stuff in the States.
4. Long talks and many adventures with good friends

Awkward:

1. You know those rude boys who were trying to flirt with you on your all girls silent retreat? Yeah, those ones. Yeah, that was the Swiss Guard. *facepalm*
2. Public transportation at rush hour. Personal bubbles are non-existant
3. Italian plumbing. Nuff said. 
4. Being ginger. In Italy. 

Ich Liebe Dich, Papa!

Apologies for my absence; we've had history and theology tests because apparently living history doesn't excuse you from learning it. Where to start. Well, last Sunday I went to the Angelus in St. Peter's square and squinted up at a tiny white speck, who, I knew, represented Christ on earth. "This," I thought, "is what it means to be Catholic!" And along with the Italian school children, we all shouted, "Viva el Papa!" On Monday I was sitting in Art History, really ready for lunch, when our RA came in and maked the breathless announcement that the Pope had resigned.

Resigned?

Popes can resign?

I have to admit that I was in shock. I vaguely remember pushing past people to get to the TV in the lounge. It was all true. The story ran over and over: Pope Benedict...no longer able...has resigned. I stood staring at the screen, unable to even comprehend what I was hearing. All I could hear was my Dad's voice, saying, "It's Ratzinger!" When Pope Benedict was first elected. I remembered how excited we had all been, even though we were all Anglican. I remembered my confirmation, when Pope Benedict became my papa too. I thought about all his books I haven't read, but how much I admired him. I started to shake uncontrollably, and then the tears came. I didn't care that I was surrounded by people; I was so confused and shaken.

Then the excitement set in. "We're gonna get a new Pope and the old one isn't even dead. Isn't that great?" So the emotions went back and forth: hysterical weeping, excited chatter, tears, talking, but finally we settled on excited. 

We were even more excited when we learned that the Pope had cancelled Ash Wednesday Mass at Santa Sabine and, instead, was having it at St. Peter's. We were all ecstatic because we knew we couldn't go to the mass at St. Sabine, but we had a chance at getting into St. Peter's. We were all ready to skip classes, and head to St. Peter's before 8 am. But we all waited until 11:30, and that was the perfect time. We got in the very front of the line, and were among the first 100 people into the Basilica for Pope Benedict's final public mass! 

It was such a bittersweet experience. On one hand, it was sad to see how frail the Pope is, but one the other, it was joyful because it displayed Pope Benedict's faithful service to the church, particularly over the last eight years. It was also a very humbling experience; the Pope was not putting on a final performance. He was saying a Mass, surrounded by those he loves the best- Catholics from all over the world, from every walk of life. And, as he gave his last public homily, he begged us to "turn to the Lord with all your heart." Even with all the attention on him, Pope Benedict was preparing us to be unified under a new pope. 

Just before the final blessing, one of the Cardinals stood up and, in Italian, thanked the Pope for his service. There then followed the most respectful standing ovation I've ever heard. The whole Basilica broke into applause, but not noisy, rowdy clapping: respectful and reverent applause. It was a manifestation of the love, deep respect, and gratitude that every person in the Basilica felt for him. 

It was truly a beautiful experience, and I'm not sure how I can convey the Pope's love for every single person on this planet. It was one of those things you could just feel. I felt as though he was truly my father, and that we had a very deep, personal relationship, the kind of unconditional love that belongs to Christ. I know that we all feel as if no one could ever replace him, but I know that he wants us to give all the loyalty we've shown him to the new pope. 

Subiaco

There was a man of venerable life, blessed by grace, and blessed in name, for he was called 'Benedictus'...who from his younger years, carried always the mind of an old man; for his age was inferior to his virtue.
- Life of St. Benedict by Gregory the Great

Last weekend we took a trip to Subiaco, Assisi, and Orvieto. Subiaco, for those of you who don't know, was where St. Benedict spend the first three years of his monastic life. Now there is a gorgeous monastery there, perched precariously on the side of the mountain. I was a little worried that the buses wouldn't make it up the hairpin turns, but finally we made it to the top and were rewarded with this view.

  The entire inside of the church is covered in stunning 12th century frescos in vibrant reds, blues, and golds. Because the frescoes are pre-renaissance, the figures are not particularly life-like, but I thought it was absolutely beautiful. They don't allow pictures in the church, but you can browse their website, and see all the frescoes for yourself. The upper church was probably my favorite because it depicted scenes from Christ's life and passion. Even the most illiterate person could have easily understood the Life of Christ just by looking at these frescoes.

When you first walk into the upper church your eye is immediately drawn to a huge painting showing Christ's crucifixion. Although the picture here isn't very good, you can see how busy the fresco is. Of course Christ is the focal point of the work, but he is surrounded by a mass of humanity. I don't know if you can see it, but the soldiers who are throwing dice for Christ's clothes look like Genghis Kahn, which is interesting.

The lower church is a little bit less busy than the upper, but is still very beautiful. The frescoes here show scenes from the life of St. Benedict, especially the many attempts made on his life, which makes for some pretty dramatic frescoes. The ceiling was decorated with Benedict surrounded by the Evangelists and other important figures, which shows his important place in church history.

Another really cool fresco is a painting of St. Francis of Assisi, which was actually painted during his lifetime! St. Francis actually visited Subiaco, and, as far as I can tell, really admired Benedict's monastic life. In fact, Francis grafted his own rose bush to those at Subiaco as a sign of his unity or continuation of Benedict's example. I can't find a photo of it at the moment, but it's really cool, considering that it is the first known image of the Saint.

But my favorite fresco of all is in the Our Lady's Chapel. I think this is a really sweet image, showing Mary after her ascension into Heaven. I also like how the artist used a lot of white because, although it's less vibrant than some of the paintings, it has a real sense of tranquility to it.

We also got to see Benedict's Grotto, which was super cool. I loved the cave, but I thought that the marble statue was absolutely hideous and out of place (so what if it was made by one of Bernini's students?). I kind of wish they'd just left the cave empty because the statue really detracted from the natural beauty and simplicity of the place.

After we toured the monastery, we had the chance to wander around the countryside a bit and enjoy the absolutely stunning views from the top of the mountain.

A view, I believe, over the town of Subiaco, but I could be wrong.

A Trip to the Catacombs

Before I came to Rome, I, like many people thought that there was only one Catacomb, so I felt pretty stupid, when I found out that there are over 70 (only a few have been excavated though). Last week we took a class trip to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian. It was probably the most homeschool-y thing I have ever done in college. We all walked in a pack, while someone wearing a baby-carrier lectured (our history professor). It was an absolutely lovely day to take a walk down the Appia Antiqua, and, you know, just walk where St.'s Peter and Paul walked, like we do in Rome.

Sheep on the Appia Antiqua- probably very symbolic

The Appia is about 16 Kilometers long, and we only walked a short distance, but it is crazy to think that we were walking on the same stones that the Romans laid, and that thousands of holy people and pilgrims have walked.

The Catacomb received it's name because, surprise, surprise, it's where St. Sebastian was originally buried. It was first used as a burial place around the first century A.D. Like all burial grounds from the same time, it is located outside the city walls. It is also located near what used to be a quarry because the rock is very soft at first, but hardens over time. The Romans used this stone in their concrete, apparently. Obviously the catacombs were used for Mass and other rituals during the various persecutions by the Romans, but the catacombs were not secret, as I had been led to believe. The Romans were aware of their existence, which I found interesting. Photos aren't allowed in the Catacombs, but here is a link to the website, if you are interested.

The catacomb is about 7 miles of underground tunnels, which is kind of spooky at first. They have, however, removed all the bones to prevent theft or disrespect, which I found comforting as we stumbled along in the semi-dark. The individual tombs are kind of like little shelves carved into the rock wall-short and narrow. People were obviously a whole lot smaller back then. There are also family tombs which are very deep and have a sort of arch over them.

This is where St. Sebastian's body was first laid to rest after the Romans finally managed to kill him (if you are unfamiliar with the story, see this), but there is also some speculation that Peter and Paul's bodies were also located here at one time. St. Sebastian's body is no longer within the catacombs, but has been relocated to the magnificent church built over it.

I don't have any good pictures of the inside of the church because I felt irreverent snapping photos in a church, but I kind of wish I had because their are a lot of cool things inside. Not only in there the tomb of St. Sebastian, complete with a life-size marble statue pierced with cold arrows, but there is one of his arrows, as well as plaster casts of what are believed to be the footprints of Christ. The church also houses Bernini's final work- an enormous, white marble bust of Christ, created in, I believe, 1679. While this is, of course, an amazing work of art. I think it is totally eclipsed by the fact that there are so many relics in close proximity. Who cares about  a statue when Jesus' own footprints are only a few feet away (no pun intended)?

I also thought that it seemed a little bizarre to make a bust of Christ. I always associate busts with great philosophers and politicians, but not necessarily with Jesus. Are there a lot of works like this one? I'm really interested, so if anyone knows please comment and enlighten me.