Rome: A Church on every corner!

We lost track of the number of churches we went to while we were in Rome! Below are a few of the ones we visited as a group. We had a tour guide with us, Ben Akers, who used to be a FOCUS missionary and lived in Rome with his wife for five years. He did an amazing job not only giving us the history behind what we were seeing, but adding scripture and different meditations so we could really enter with a pilgrim's  spirit.

Basilica S. Croce in Gerusalemme

Santa Croce, known as the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, is one of our favorite churches that we went to last year and we were able to go back.

Constantine's mother, Helena, brought back many relics from the Holy Land and they are in this church. We heard the story that Helena wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land every year, but since she wasn't able to she brought back dirt with her and put it under a chapel floor in this church. There are relics of the True Cross, two thorns from the crown of Jesus, one of the nails used in Jesus' crucifixion, and the finger of St. Thomas (who doubted it was really Jesus after his Resurrection and stuck his finger into the side of Jesus.) Nennolina is buried here, the seven year old Roman girl who died of bone cancer.




The next church we went to is one of the oldest churches in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Clement, who was the fourth Pope. Under the high altar at the center are relics of Pope Clement and St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Basilica di San Clemente

What is interesting about this church is there are three historical layers. The 12th-century basilica is built on top of a well-preserved 4th-century church and under that is a 2rd-century house church. We were able to go underneath and see the excavations of the lower two levels. Visit this website to read more of the history and see additional pictures.

We were able to visit the San Lorenzo International Youth Centre, which is located right next to the Vatican. It was founded in 1983 by John Paul II "as a place where young pilgrims could find a welcoming environment, one that is founded on a shared love for the Eucharist and a missionary spirit. In 1984 the Centre became home to the original World Youth Day Cross, and since 2003 it has been home to the Icon of Mary and the Child Jesus, Salus Populi Romani, making it a place for pilgrims from around the world." (Emmanuel Info.com)

San Lorenzo Center

We had Mass and an hour of Adoration here and it was a very beautiful place, knowing that we were united to their mission of reaching out to youth!

Then we went to one of the oldest churches dedicated to Blessed Mary, the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. This church had a beautiful mosaic from the 12-century of Mary and Jesus sitting on a throne together, and we heard that it was one of the first mosaics to portray Mary on the same throne as Jesus. Here is the website to check out more information and pictures of this church.

Our tour guide Ben Akers in the piazza before we went into the church

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

The next two churches were very beautiful and really stood out to me. They are called sister churches because they are named after two sisters, Saints Pudenziana and Prassede.

The Basilica di Santa Pudenziana was the house of Saint Pudens, who is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:19-22. It is said that he was a senator and him and all of his family (including his daughters Pudenziana and Prassede) became martyrs. This was Peter's first church and it was amazing going into this church knowing that Peter and the other early popes offered Mass here!

Basilica di Santa Pudenziana

Inside Santa Pudenziana

There is half the original alter here where Peter would have offered Mass, as well as a Eucharistic Miracle and a large well containing bones of 3,000 martyrs. The mosaic in the picture shows the four winged creatures mentioned in the book of Revelation, which is the first mosaic to ever put them into art.








An interesting note: the picture to the left is taken looking down from the street level so the entrance to the church is several levels below. This shows how in the 4th-century when the church was built, the street level was significantly lower than it is today.

This last church is the Basilica di Santa Prassede, the second sister. This current church was built in the 9th-century on the remains of the 5th-century church. This was one of my favorite churches because I really felt a strong devotion to the martyrs here. There is a spot on the floor near the back of the church where it is said there is blood from 3,000 martyrs and we were able to go into the crypt with the tombs of 2,300 martyrs including 16 popes. Pudenziana and Prassede are also buried here. The picture on the right is looking into a chapel with large piece of a black granite column, said to be the pillar to which Christ was tied as he was scourged before the crucifixion. Check out this website for more information and pictures.