Walk, Run, and Hike | Week 3 Highlights
As we await the seminarians’ report on their exciting Papal Audience, enjoy the highlights of this past week!
Top 5 Highlights
Scavi Tour: The “Scavi” (Italian for “excavations”) is a guided tour through the Necropolis discovered underneath St. Peter’s Basilica from 1940-1949. During the Vatican-sponsored archaeological excavations, the tomb of St. Peter was discovered (!). What was most stunning for me was the fact that Peter’s tomb was extremely humble, with only a small shrine built over it, since the early Christians had to remain hidden under persecution. Amazingly, the burial site lines up to the central and highest point of the dome of the basilica. It was in this moment that the significance of all the beauty of the Catholic architecture really sank in for me: from the humble beginnings of the St. Peter and the Apostles in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we now enjoy the magnificent beauty and richness of the Church through the ages.
Church Architecture with Anthony Grumbine: Last week marked the first week that we began our actual classes. There was no better way to start than to start studying the classical architecture which informed the designs of all the beautiful churches throughout Rome. I learned a lot and gained many resources for analyzing the methods behind the construction of the Eternal City.
The “Gelato Cup”: As part of The Rome Experience tradition and lore, a group of us competed in the Gelato Cup 2-mile race around Vatican City. Third-place went to Pepe Zinkewich from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and second-place went to Michael Hess from the Diocese of Madison. The 2025 Gelato Cup winner was Thomas Hammen from the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee finishing at the blistering time of 12:54. The trophy was bestowed by Fr. Eric Nielsen to Thomas from the second-floor balcony of Casa di Santa Brigida with the words “Habemus Gelato!”
Vatican Gardens: His Excellency Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru took us through a walking tour of the Vatican Gardens which was truly a privileged experience. I was amazed at the beauty and peacefulness of the greenery, buildings, and monuments. There was the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes which contained the actual altar that was placed in the Massabielle grotto after the apparitions. We also got to see the residence of Pope Benedict XVI when he was Pope Emeritus. One of the more peculiar things was the Vatican Mall open for its employees. Being a country, the mall was established to represent its economic activity.
7 Church Tour: To cap off the week, several of us completed the pilgrimage of the “Seven Churches,” originally conceived by St. Philip Neri in the 16th century. It involved a 15-mile walk which spans the whole city of Rome, reaching out to the Roman countryside. It included the major basilicas of Rome (St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls), other significant early Christian sites (St. Lawrence, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and St. Sebastian), and ended at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. St. Philip Neri, pray for us!
Michael Lee
Archdiocese of Los Angeles