A Catholic's Guide to Rome: Discovering the Soul of the Eternal City by Frank J. Korn

(New York: Paulist Press, 2000), 212

A pilgrimage to Rome moves one profoundly and changes one's view of life forever. More than anywhere else, this is the place to strengthen one's faith and increase one's devotion. (172)

What is clear in this book is that there is much more in Rome than one can experience in one visit. This was an exciting introduction and preparation for the first visit, of which I hope there will be many.

Pope Boniface VIII declared 1300 a Holy Year, and Dante describes this in The Inferno, Canto XVIII
"The once hunted, hounded, despised, tortured, and martyred Christians eventually and peacefully conquered Rome and continue to reign here in the person of the Vicar of Christ. There is scarcely a brick in Rome that does not attest to that fact. It is my purpose to show the pilgrim how to find our Christian heritage in Rome, not only in the basilicas and churches, but virtually everywhere." (5)
Nine apostles are believed to be buried in Rome (8):
- Peter, Jude, Simon the Danaanite in St. Peter's
- Paul in St. Paul's Outside the Walls
- St. Bartholomew in his church
- Matthias in the crypt below Santa Maria Maggiore
- Philip and James the Less in Santi Apostoli
- Andrew in his church
The four pillars of St. Peter's supporting the dome contain the relics of Veronica's veil, the lance that pierced Christ's side, the head of St. Andrew, and a piece of the True Cross. (36)
San Carlo on Via delle Quattro was built to the dimensions of merely one palister of St. Peter's (36)
On Sunday afternoons devout Romans would walk the streets and offer a Hail Mary at every Madonella (statuettes of Mary in niches on the fronts of buildings, often with P.G.R., per grazie recevute, for favors received) they came upon until they had said five decades of the Rosary. (164)
"A pilgrimage to Rome moves one profoundly and changes one's view of life forever. More than anywhere else, this is the place to strengthen one's faith and increase one's devotion." (172)
"One of the most dominant and nagging thoughts a first-time visitor to Rome will have is: 'When is the soonest I can return?' For in its totality, Rome—especially Christian Rome—is inexhaustible." (173)

Topic: Travel-Rome

Source

UA Library

Created: 2025-03-30-Sun
Updated: 2025-04-14-Mon