Rome. Sweet Home.

Rome. Sweet Home.

This is the title of a book written by Scott Hahn on the story of the return of himself and his family to the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Just a minute, before you get ideas, you're not about to read a similar story from me. I was born a Catholic and I grew up a Catholic. At the time of writing this article I am still a Catholic, and I intend to die a Catholic. 

What this piece is about, however, is the story of my first visit to the city of Rome, the seat of the Universal Catholic Church.

This visit was not really planned, I just took advantage of being in the area (Europe) with a Schengen visa that allows free movement amongst member states. As I was scheduled to be on a program, I could only get away the weekend before the program commenced and so planned a short 2 day visit.

I can't say Rome was everything I thought it would be as I really had no expectations of what I hoped the city would be, would bring or would offer. I went with a 'plain as canvas' mind, ready to partake of whatever the city had to offer. A couple of weeks before then however, I had written an article on the Basilica of Mary Major which is one of the four major basilicas in Rome. If there was anything on my bucket list for my visit, it was only to make sure I visited this basilica during my short stay.

On arriving in Rome, I proceeded immediately to my hotel, a place called Casa La Salle (http://www.casalasalle.com/index.php?lang=en). I liked this place very much because of its cool ambience both inside and outside with comfortable rooms. It also has a chapel on site where masses hold daily (albeit in Italian) and I appreciated that I had somewhere quiet to go and pray. It is a few minutes walk away from both the bus stop and the metro station so moving around town was easy. Downside for me was poor service from the team. Almost every request was met with 'Not Possible'. Can I get tea to drink in the night? Not possible. Can I have a later checkout - say 12 noon instead of 10am? Not possible else you will be charged an extra day. Ah, poor service was definitely the spoiler. 

Most of my time was spent touring the major basilicas assisted by Friar James, a Franciscan friar who was introduced to me and graciously accepted to show me around town. We visited three of the four major basilicas - St Peter's, Mary Major and St John Latheran. We also visited several other Basilicas including the church where the original image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is kept, the church where the pillar to which Jesus was tied during his scourging is kept, the basement of St Peter's Basilica where previous popes are buried (saw St Peter's tomb there amongst others), Castel D'Angelo which used to be the Papal Apartment and so many other places. 

In all the major basilicas visited, I passed through the Holy Door, which was truly a privilege and made my trip very fulfilling. I was also glad to see that even though people were allowed to wear anything up until the entrance of the churches, you were not allowed to enter into the church if you were not properly covered including your arms and thighs. If you turned up in sleeveless or anything about an inch or two above your knee, you were not allowed to enter the church. Yours truly was turned back at the door of St Peter's basilica for wearing a sleeveless dress and became depressed at the thought of having to go out to buy a scarf and then make my way back with the long queue with minimal chance of getting back in that day (the story of the 10 wise and 10 foolish virgins came to my mind so strongly then), but luckily I was able to borrow a shirt after which I bought a scarf for my subsequent visits. 

The churches are magnificent. They are all old but very stately, grand and magnificent. The paintings, the artwork, the edifice, everything was awe inspiring. Though I didn't get the opportunity to see it, Friar James told me that when all the lights are lit in the basilica during the celebration of the Holy Mass, you literally fell like you are in heaven. Anyway, I have saved that experience for another day. 

There are literally Catholic Churches on every street in Rome, several in most cases. To put it in context, Catholic Churches in Rome are like Reedemed churches in Lagos, at least one on every street. There is even a chapel at the airport complete with a Holy Door. Unfortunately, the churches are largely empty of worshippers even on a Sunday morning. Most people entering the churches are tourists. Rome is indeed filled with beautiful but empty churches. No wonder Pope Francis has asked the priests to leave the church and go into the world to seek the flock and bring them back.

Unfortunately I was unable to see so many of the usual tourist places - Sistine chapel and Colosseum (the queues to get in were just too long and I didn't have enough time), Spanish steps, the Pantheon, and so on. There is just so much to see and the expression 'Rome was not built on a day' really comes to life when one visits the city. In the same vein I would advise that if you are planning a visit and intend to do justice to the sights, plan to spend at least 5 days. Unless you're like me and intend to explore the town little by little over several visits. 

Will bring you an update in 2017 after my next visit.