Rome 2

Dear All,

I was longing to go to an Enlgish-speaking Mass on Sunday, so Helen and I bussed off to the Oratory and were part of a double circle of people (no more than 50) in a gem of a Church, and everything in English. What is more, they had nibbles after Mass and we stood around and chatted as we sipped wine/juice and chips/nuts. Very nice. There were a couple there I had met on the bus trip the previous day, including Fr Stuart, from Melbourne, known well to Fr Tony who was on my Sangre course. I took a photo.

1) Sr Helen & Fr Stuart after Mass (he wasn't the celebrant. He has been studying in Rome and is on a break2) This was the celebrant's chair for our Mass and in front of it was a free-standing altar-table. Behind it in the picture, you can see the main altar in the Church.

3) This is quite some Holy Water font! Those angels are about a half a metre high.

We also checked out the Pantheon, which was built by the Romans. It is a church and there are notices inviting suitable behaviour, but the crowds make any sense of 'church' difficult to achieve.

1) You can see the notice about this being a Church.

2) The dome was an engineering marvel, with a central hole to let out the smoke from the burnt sacrifices offered within the space when it was a Roman temple. Now the hole just lets in the rain, but it would also help general ventilation.

3) A side chapel within the Pantheon.

We wandered around various streets and had a lovely lunch at an outdoor restaurant. The waiter was suitable aloof - the normal style in Rome, as far as I can gather. He did a good job. We saw various fountains and buildings of interest.

1) We had lunch at one of the restaurants down the further end of this piazza.

2) One of the many fountains of Rome.

3) The Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Rome.

I must conclude the Rome section by giving you a little idea of the place in Rome where I stayed with the Sisters of our Generate. The building, as most in Rome, is several stories high, and there is a lovely garden maintained by a gardener. The Community is very multinational, but English is the common language with most speaking it. We had a Barbecue evening meal for one Sister's birthday, hence the outdoor photos.

1) A small section of the grounds in front of the house. Unfortunately I lost my good photos of the house!

2) Sr Gerardine (Australia) and Sr Chantal (Uganda)

3) Srs Relida & Dominica (PNG), Sr Kateia (Kiribatis) and Sr Bernadette (Australia). There were also 3 sisters from Indonesia and 1 from Brazil, plus 2 more Australians.

That finishes the Rome section of my journey except for Assisi, which is worth a blog on its own and is still to come. Bye for the present. God bless! Rita