Basilicas

(Fr. Tim Costello orienting us for a visit to St. Mary Major.)


The weather here is nothing like SLO! It is really hot these days. This means getting around is not as pleasant as I hoped. But we are surviving and trying to do things earlier in the day.

This morning we visited two of the major Basilicas in Rome -- St. John Lateran and St Mary Major. The other two are St. Paul outside the walls of Rome and St Peter's in the Vatican. Both Basilicas we visited today are large. Being their earlier in the day meant the crowds were smaller and so spending a few moments in quiet prayer in each of these places was very possible.


(St. John Lateran Church -- Cathedral of Rome -- Pope's Church as Bishop of Rome.)

While neither of these places hold special interest in our Marist heritage, we do know that Fr. Colin, just like any other Catholic in Rome, would have visited these special places. He and his companions would have been impressed with these buildings. They are more ornate than the simple Churches of the Bugey mountains. I wonder whether Fr. Colin preferred the smaller, simpler churches he preached in? My guess is that while being impressed, he would have preferred the smaller and simpler.

(Ceiling of St. John's. Yes, it's painted with real gold. Very ornate and perhpas a bit over the top.)

Our small chapel at the Newman Center is nothing like these places physically. But when filled with you guys speaks volumes about FAITH.