Grace and Glory | Week 2 Highlights

1. St. Peter’s Basilica: My favorite moment of this week was visiting Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica. The sheer size and beauty of St. Peter’s is beyond words. We also had the privilege of celebrating Mass in the crypt adjacent to the tomb of several popes, and most importantly, right in front of the sepulcher of St. Peter’s bones. I truly felt as if I was in the heart of the Church across both space and time. Inscribed along the dome are the words “Tu es Petrus,” quoting our Lord’s words to St. Peter when he made him the rock upon which the Church would stand. Looking at this inscription, I meditated upon our Lord’s providential love for the Church as he ensures a stable and firm shepherd to preserve and guide all of the members of the body of the Church.

2. St. Paul’s Outside the Walls: His Eminence James Cardinal Harvey gave us a personal tour of this basilica, highlighting its importance as the first stop for many pilgrims to Rome as it is situated outside of the city. This helped us to experience Rome in a similar manner to the pilgrims of centuries past. Seeing the tomb of St. Paul was particularly moving. Cardinal Harvey hosted us for an excellent lunch following our tour. Aside from the pilgrimage site itself, it was especially noteworthy to have Cardinal Harvey as a tour guide because he is an American, showing the importance of the American Catholicism in the heart of the Church (not to mention our Holy Father!).

3. Archbasilica of St. John Lateran: Although most people rightfully see St. Peter’s as the spiritual center of the Church, our visit to St. John Lateran, led by Msgr. Roger Landry, made me realize that St. John Lateran is often and unfortunately placed in the background. St. John Lateran, containing breathtaking artwork and several papal tombs, is really the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and, as such, is the Mother Church of all churches. The Pope’s cathedra is in St. John Lateran, the chair from which his Petrine authority flows. Msgr. Landry highlighted for the group the didactic nature of the artwork of St. John Lateran, wherein the statues of the Apostles located on the pillars highlight that the Church stands upon the witness of the Apostles. Moreover, the paired images of Old Testament and New Testament events show the fulfillment of the Old Covenant in Jesus Christ.

4. St. Mary Major: The seminarians were warned before our visit that St. Mary Major has been unusually crowded recently, and this is of course because our late Holy Father is entombed therein. It was a somber moment for me to see his burial site. At the same time, the grandeur of St. Mary Major served as a fitting final stop among the four papal basilicas.

5. Colosseum: While the Colosseum is a fairly casual tourist location, I found it sobering to recall the Christians of centuries past who gave their lives in that site and others like it in Rome in witness to their faith. The Church as a whole, but in a particular way the Roman Church, is supported by the faith of the martyrs who love Christ to the point of death. Although the Colosseum is architecturally stunning, one cannot ignore its state of disrepair, contrasted by the grandeur of the surrounding Roman churches. This highlights the victory of the Church against those who persecuted her.

Anthony Caruso
Archdiocese of Hartford