July 3

Knowing that anything can happen to this group, we got up very early in the morning. Giancarlo had called and ordered three taxis. The taxis arrived at 6:30, and we stuffed five bike cases into three taxis, along with the human occupants. Thanks to the thieves, we did not have any luggage to check, except for a cheap cloth bag we bought from a street vendor.  We put our few belongings in it.  Street vendors on the other side of town were probably selling our luggage. After a quick and very fast ride to the airport, we went to the desk.

There we were told that the Corbetts did not have a reservation. After solving that problem, we took our bike cases and loaded them onto the conveyor belt. The man at the customs office kindly told me that I could not get the tax refund for the bicycle I had purchased, because I did not have the form. That form is probably in Albania or Moscow!

After passing easily through security, we went through the duty-free shops, prayed morning prayer on our phones, and waited for departure. Once on the plane, we sat there for two hours. The pilot cheerfully told us that there was a maintenance problem. If that problem was not fixed in 45 minutes, we would have to deplane and be assigned to different flights tomorrow.

Our flight attendant was a very nice woman from St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Fort Wayne. She easily understood our problem, and was extremely kind to us.  She also teased us and suggested that we were the reason for the delay! Because the maintenance took 10 minutes longer, we had to wait for an FAA waiver to break the law and allow us to depart from Rome.

When the plane took off, we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. The nice flight attendant provided much beer and wine, and the flight to Chicago was uneventful.

We arrived two hours late, went to Tony and Kristi's house to sort things out and get something to eat, and then drove back to Granger. TJ Ahearn was very kind to come and get us. We got home at midnight, just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July.

It will take us a long time to sort all of this out. I am extremely grateful for all of the graces of the pilgrimage, and I would do it again in a minute! This is the most amazing thing I've ever done.

July 2

 Bill, Fr. Terry, Giancarlo, and I got up early and rode through the streets of Rome before traffic crowded the streets. We rode past St. Peter's, down around the coliseum, around the Circus Maximus, and back into Saint Peter Square. That route hardly ever happens when we leave St. Pius to head through Niles or Buchanan.

After returning to the convent, we showered, celebrated Mass, ordered taxis for tomorrow, and paid the sisters for our stay.

Then we jumped on the metro and went to the Coliseum. No matter how many times I've visited this place, it always amazes me.

Then we walked to St. John Lateran.  On the way, we visited San Clemente, an ancient church with beautiful mosaics.  At Saint John Lateran, we entered the baptistery, a freestanding octagonal shaped building next to the cathedral. In our new church, we will have an octagonal shaped baptismal font in the gathering area separate from the church.

Above the font we found the same Latin words that are around the font at St. Pius. Pope St. Leo the Great wrote these words as a meditation on baptism.

St. John Lateran is the cathedral church for the Bishop of Rome. This is a picture of his cathedra, or chair.

St. John is a beautiful church which was home for the Popes for many centuries. The Lateran Council was held here.

We left the church and grabbed some lunch.

Then we jumped on the metro and went to the fourth major Basilica, Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

Although the ancient church burned down in the 19th century, Pope Pius IX  rebuilt it in the form of Constantine's version of the original St. Peter's. 

Recent archaeological excavations have located the tomb of St. Paul. The image of Pope Francis has been added to the images of all the other popes since Peter

We returned to the convent, packed up our bikes, prayed evening prayer, had one last supper, and went to bed. We were hoping that we have experienced our last disaster.

July 1

After the fabulous meal we enjoyed with Paolo's friends last night, we were able to sleep in late this morning. Because the thieves had taken all of my shoes, I went out searching for a pair of sandals. The flip flops I have been wearing were not doing the job! To my great surprise, I found  that I could buy a pair of sandals at a pharmacy! We are not in Kansas any more, Dorothy!

We walked to Saint Peter 's Basilica, where we were given a tour of the Scavi.  Pope Pius the 12th had ordered excavations under the Basilica in the 1930s. When Constantine had built the original Basilica in the fourth century, everyone presumed that the altar was above the tomb of St. Peter. The altar was placed in the same area when the present basilica was built in the 16th century. In the process of excavating, archaeologists found good evidence of a cemetery under the present altar. There is credible evidence that St. Peter had been buried there, and the tour was the final part of our pilgrimage. We had celebrated Mass near the place where Thomas Becket was martyred. We ended at the bones of St. Peter.

After the Scavi tour, we took the metro to the Spanish steps. Unfortunately, most of it was under scaffolding.

We walked many blocks around Rome, until we found a nice place for lunch.  After lunch, we enjoyed the best gelato in all of Rome.

Then we went to the Pantheon. This is the only intact building from ancient Rome. Instead of being a temple to all gods, it is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and the Roman martyrs.

Then we walked to Piazzo Navona, which had served as a place for racing chariots in ancient Rome.

From there we walked to the ancient Roman forum and the Palatine hill, where the emperors lived.

Then we walked to St. Mary Major, the first church in the west dedicated to theMother of God. Pope Francis had come to this church to pray in the presence of the statute, before going to the hotel to pay his bill after being elected pope.

We jumped on the metro, returned to the convent, celebrated Mass, and had a nice supper.  We are enjoying Rome!