Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (4) - Day 1 continued

La Maddalena
After Mass in the Sacristy Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Post 2) and following our visit to the Pantheon (Post 3), Day 1 of our Pilgrimage to Rome continued with a visit to the 'La Maddalena' the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, where St. Camillus de Lellis, also a member of the Sodality of Our Lady in his time, is buried.  As so often, the Church was closed but the riotous baroque facade provided some interest for our pilgrims.  The site was purchased by St. Camillus and his companions in 1621, with the permission of Pope Gregory XV Ludovisi, of whom more below, and construction began ten years later.  The facade was built in stages and each is attributed to a different architect.  The whole effect evokes the Rococo of Borromini, with its counter-curves across the whole, although it is the only time when such effects were used so completely for a Church in Rome.

Piazza Capranica and Piazza Montecitorio
From 'La Maddalena' it is a short walk to the Piazza Capranica.  We have visited the interior of the College and its Chapel in an earlier pilgrimage (here).  We had already visited the Capranica Family Chapel in the Minerva (Post 3).  We paused to remember Ven. Pope Pius XII, who was a student and member of the Sodality of Our Lady in the College.  Taking up another side of the Piazza is Santa Maria in Aquiro.  The facade is beautifully articulated in red brick and limestone.  The original Church was very ancient, founded as a Diaconia, and first restored by Pope Gregory III, of whom also more later.

A few steps beyond is the Piazza of Montecitorio, with the Palazzo built by Bernini for Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, of whom more below, and completed by Carlo Fontana.  It once housed the Law Courts of the Papal States and now houses the Italian Chamber of Deputies.  The obelisk in the Piazza was brought to Rome by the Emperor Augustus and placed here by Pope Pius VI in 1789. 

A few steps more is the Piazza Colonna, containing the great Column of Marcus Aurelius, which is now surmounted by a statue of St. Paul, placed there by Pope Sixtus V during the restoration of the Column as part of his magnificent town-planning project.  Facing the Column across the Via del Corso is the Palazzo Chigi, built by Giacomo della Porta, and first inhabited by the family after the election of our good friend Pope Alexander VII Chigi, the first Sodalist of Our Lady to be elected Pope.  The Palazzo is now the offices of the Prime Minister of Italy.

Sant'Ignazio
Turning southwards we reach the Collegio Romano - founded by our good friend Pope Gregory XIII, first Pope to approve the Sodality of Our Lady in 1584 - and the Church of Sant'Ignazio, built by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, Vice Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church and nephew of Pope Gregory XV Ludovisi.  Inside, in the Ludovisi Chapel to the Epistle-side of the Sanctuary, are the tombs of uncle and nephew.  We have visited the Church on several previous pilgrimages (here) because this is the site of the first Sodality of Our Lady, the Prima Primaria.  In previous years we have visited the Chapel of the Prima Primaria and the rooms once occupied by Saints Aloysius Gonzaga and John Berchmans, both Sodalists (here) but confined ourselves on this visit to the Church, which contains the relics of both Saints as well as the relics of Saint Robert Bellarmine, Professor and Rector of the College.

Let us remember particularly Vittoria della Tolfa, Marchese della Valle, who donated the entire block to the Jesuits to found the College and Church.  The Church itself is the second on the site, the first dedicated to the Annunciation, a dedication that was perpetuated in the Prima Primaria.  Pope Gregory XV had been a student of the College and had canonized St. Ignatius in 1622.  Cardinal Ludovisi patronized the project.  the foundation stone was laid in 1627 and the whole building was complete in 1685.

Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (3) - After Mass in the Minerva

The Sacristy of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

The Chapel of Saint Catherine is located behind the Sacristy of the Basilica. The Sacristy itself is an amazing and historic space. It has housed at least two Papal Conclaves, those of 1431 and 1447, to elect Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V respectively. It can be found behind a gate just to the left of the Gospel-side Transept of the Basilica but, as ever, our intrepid pilgrimages organizer obtained for us access to some of those places in Rome where very few and only seldom go. The decoration of the Sacristy is by Andrea Sacchi in 1600, including the Crucifixion in the niche at the far end of the Sacristy (behind which is the Chapel of Saint Catherine). The ceiling scene of St. Dominic in glory is attributed to Giuseppe Puglia. The fresco of the Roman painter G. B. Speranza is placed on the front door, dating from 1640, and represents two conclaves which took place here. The Barberini bees - a motif that will recur throughout our pilgrimage - appear in several places in the Sacristy. In this case, they are the emblem of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, Archbishop of Reims, known as Antonio the Younger, one of the Cardinals Nephew of Pope Urban VIII. The Barberini family was a great benefactor of the Dominican Order and funded the decoration of the sacristy. The vestment benches and presses are also 17th cent. and are of walnut.

Inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

The Basilica is too filled with historic and artistic gems to cover all but those that our group concentrated upon were the tomb of Saint Catherine of Siena under the High Altar (seen below with the tomb of Pope Clement VII Medici behind. Opposite it out of shot the tomb of Pope Leo X Medici, both Florentines with strong connections to the Dominican Order), next to it, the Capranica Family Chapel of the Holy Rosary, where we had Mass on a previous Pilgrimage, the Caraffa Family Chapel with the tomb of Pope Paul IV at the end of the Epistle-side Transept (opposite the Chapel of St. Dominic at the end of the Gospel-side Transept, built for Pope Benedict XIII, the Dominican Pope, and containing his tomb), and finally, just next to the Caraffa Chapel, the tomb of the redoubtable Durandus.

Outside the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

In the Piazza outside the Basilica is Bernini's famous Obelisk supported by an Elephant, erected here by Pope Alexander VII Chigi, the first member of the Sodality of Our Lady (of a total of 20) to be elected Pope and of whom we shall hear much throughout the pilgrimage. Opposite the Basilica is the Palace of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, or the Academy of Noble Ecclesiastics, the finishing school for Vatican diplomats.

Just around the corner is the discreet - but fascinating - shopfront of Ditta Annibale Gammarelli, Ecclesiastical tailors since 1798, who provided the vestments for our pilgrimage.

Just a few steps up the street is the Pontifical French Seminary and the Seminary Church of Santa Chiara. Across the tiny Piazza di Santa Chiara is the Palazzo di Santa Chiara. This was once a house of Dominican Tertiaries and the actual site of the death of Saint Catherine of Siena. As already mentioned, the room itself where she died was moved into place behind the Sacristy of the Minerva, and the space left by that removal has been replaced by an amazing little chapel of 'Santa Catarina in Transito' which remains open to the public despite the Palazzo now being a public theatre - where some of the pilgrims also attended a selection of operatic pieces one evening of the trip.

Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (2) - Opening Mass in the Minerva

Meeting in the Vatican
Our pilgrimage to Rome works on several levels.  It is a visit to the tombs of the Apostles and the other Saints of Rome.  It is an occasion to spend time together in prayer as a group.  It is an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and culture of Rome, to see with our own eyes our heritage as Catholics in living as well as in static form.  It is a journey to honour the See of Peter and Our Holy Father the Pope.  As a journey to experience the Catholic culture of Rome and to honour the Holy See, an important element of our pilgrimage is always to pay our respects to officials of the Holy See.  This year, a few of the pilgrims had the honour to begin our first day, just before Mass, with an audience with the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche.

Mass in the Minerva
The first Mass of the 2017 Catholic Heritage Association Pilgrimage to Rome took place in the Sacristy Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, that is, the Basilica of Our Lady built over the ruins of the Temple of Minerva.  During our 2008 Pilgrimage we had the privilege of having Mass in the beautiful Capranica Chapel dedicated to the Holy Rosary (see here).  This year, continuing our quest 'boldly to go where few men have gone before,' we were granted an even greater privilege to have Mass in the small Chapel of Saint Catherine of Siena, which is the actual room in which Saint Catherine died, and which is to be found behind the wonderful Sacristy of the Basilica (see here), the site of at least two Papal Conclaves.

The Chapel was rebuilt on this site in 1637 on the initiative of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, using the original walls of the room in a nearby house where the Saint died in 1380.  The house itself is now the site of the Palazzo di Santa Chiara on the Via Santa Chiara and the space left by the room is now itself a Chapel (see here) called Santa Caterina da Siena in Transito.

The Cardinal also had the frescoes attributed to Antoniazzo Romano and his assistants placed in the Sacristy Chapel, which had originally had been in the left arm of the transept.  Over the Altar, the Crucifixion and the Saints, on the left wall, the Annunciation with Ss. Jerome and Onofrio, and on the right wall, the Resurrection with Ss. Lucy and Augustine.

The Altar was erected by Pope Benedict XIII, himself a Dominican who is buried in the Chapel of St. Dominic in the left hand transept of the Basilica, decorated by the Filippo Raguzzini on the instructions of the same Pope Benedict XIII.

Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (1) - Opening Vespers and Benediction

The annual pilgrimage to Rome of the Catholic Heritage Association began this evening with Vespers of the Little Office of the Immaculate Conception and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception was, as usual, the thread of prayer that joined together the various visits and ceremonies of the Pilgrimage.  The Hours of the Little Office were recited during the course of each day of the Pilgrimage.

We returned this year to the Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, where we had stayed in 2003. The Istituo is one of the most spectacular and memorable places to stay in Rome. The Catholic Heritage Association always favours religious houses as the base for international pilgrimages and was pleased to have the opportunity to return to the Istituto. The House is run by the Sisters of Charity of the Infant Mary, founded in Milan by Saints Vincenza Gerosa and Bartolomea Capitanio, both members of the Sodality of Our Lady. It is a modern building in a part of the medieval Leonine fortifications surrounding the Vatican and is on Vatican Extraterritorial property. The views from the fourth floor terrace are legendary.

Saint Ailbe and the Foundations of the See of Emly

The Church and Cross of Saint Ailbe

at Emly, County Tipperary

From Fr. Thomas Walsh's History of the Irish hierarchy: with the monasteries of each county, biographical notices of the Irish Saints, prelates, and religious, 1856, c. xx, pps. 194-5.

The see of Emly was founded by St. Ailbe about the year 464. He was a native of Eliach now called Eliogarty in Munster and became a disciple of St. Patrick about the year 445. St. Ailbe is represented by some as a bishop exercising episcopal functions in Ireland before the arrival of the apostle of the nation. Such a statement is at variance with the testimony of Prosper Tirechen and other authorities and with the chronology of the Irish annals which state positively that his death took place in the year 527. Tirechen, one of the most accurate writers of our country, has recorded that Ailbe was ordained priest by St. Patrick. St. Ailbe lived under the pious king Aengus and, having erected his cathedral on a convenient site which that prince had presented, he soon after laid the foundation of a monastery and college in which human and heavenly science was taught gratuitously and to which students from all parts of Europe resorted. Among the number of eminent persons who received their education under Ailbe are reckoned Colman of Dromore and Nessan of Mungret. St. Ailbe justly revered for his piety and sanctity was looked upon as another St. Patrick and a second patron of Munster. He is deservedly ranked among the fathers of the Irish church. Ailbe, in his humility, desirous to avoid the respect which was shown him, resolved to retire to the Island of Tyle in Iceland, but the king who was unwilling that his people should be deprived of the eminent services which his presence would confer, prevailed on him to return to Emly. Twenty-two of his monks were allowed to pursue their journey in order to enlighten the inhabitants of this distant region in the glad tidings of redemption. During the incumbency of St. Ailbe, a synod was held at Cashel attended also by the king and the chiefs of the Desii. St. Declan of Ardmore was present. Many valuable decrees regarding morals and ecclesiastical discipline were enacted.