Arrivederci Roma

Today I come to the end of my time in Rome.  Up early to grab a taxi to the train station at 5:30 fo a 6:15 train.  First stage will take me to Venice for a change over and then from Venice to Salzburg with a change at Villach.  I am excited about this next couple weeks but I have to say that I will miss being in Rome.  A group of us had dinner last night in a local restaurant and we all agreed that the people we shared this experience will not soon be forgotten.  We made good friendships and found lots of support and encouragement in one another.

This week was pretty random in some respects.  We had two presentations (Blessed John Henry Newman and the Passion Accounts).  A nice way to round out the academic part of the program.  We also had two tours.  We went to the Catacombs of Priscilla on Wednesday.  As often as I have gone to those catacombs I am always struck by the beautiful art and the faith that it reveals.  While it is not true that the early Christians hid in the catacombs since the Romans knew of their location it is true that Mass was celebrated there to be close to the tombs of the martyrs and all who had died.  When Christianity became tolerated and later became an important religion in the Empire many of the bodies were taken out of the catacombs and put into churches.  Most of the tombs are now empty although not all.

Thursday was really our last day of activities.  We celebrated Mass in the St. Benedict Chapel of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.  A fitting conclusion to our time together.  The sabbatical participants have begun to scatter and everyone who is left will leave on Monday.  Some will be returning home, some will be staying in Rome but moving to other accommodations.  A few, like myself, will be doing a bit more traveling. 

The Chapel of St. Benedict (Benedictine monks care for the Basilica)

After the Mass and a tour by the former abbot we went to the lovely restaurant Cecelia Metella which over looks the tomb of Cecelia Metella.  This was our final banquet.  We had a wonderful meal with an appetizer, Scrigno (spinach noodles in a red sauce baked in a little pot that looks like the tomb), Saltimbocca (typical Roman entree of veal, sage and prosciutto) and dessert.  Throughout the meal there were toasts to each of the nations represented (U.S., Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia) as well as Rome and the Holy Father.  Lots of laughs and lots of fun.

The rest of the time has been free.  I decided to take a cooking class as that had been one of the things on my bucket list.  I love to cook and this was a lot of fun.  11 of us who were mostly from the U.S. although one couple from Israel and a young woman from Bolivia gathered with Chef Andrea Consoli at his kitchen in Trastevere.  He led us through the preparation of six dishes and then served us what we made.  On the menu: Roman Artichokes, Spaghetti alla Chittara alla Carbonara, Meat balls in Tomato Sauce, two vegetables and Tiramisu.  Lots of my favorites!  We had a great time but we were ready to eat by the time we sat down.  Chef Andrea did a great job plating and serving. And we had a nice conversation around the table.

The ingredients for our meal

Chef and I

The last couple days I have finished packing, working on a couple of open ended projects I had started and just relaxed.  The weather has been a bit unstable so it is sunny and rainy in a kidn of alternating pattern.  This morning, for example, it started out lovely, became overcast and then was pouring rain as I left the restaurant where I had lunch.  It subsided after a couple of blocks and the sun has been out.  Now it is getting dark again.  Typical Roman spring.  One of the blessings of having lived in Rome is that I don't feel the need to spend every moment running around.  I have left lots of things to return to in the future so I am sure I'll be back, if possible.

For Palm Sunday I had planned to go to St. Peter's for the papal Mass.  In the end I decided I didn't want to fight the crowds and have been to many papal events so I decided to end my time with a very Roman flair.  My music director, Garrick Comeaux, has spent significant time in Rome and lived here last year.  I asked him for suggestions of places that would have a nice liturgy and good music.  One of the places he recommended was Santa Maria dell'Orto where he went regularly.  He even wrote ahead to the pastor and I was able to concelebrate (in Italian - with a Spanish accent.  When I started saying Mass in Spanish they would tease me about my Italian accent.  Today the shoe was on the other foot).  Everyone was welcoming and very forgiving of my halting Italian.  The Mass was simple but well done and the music was very fine.  An interesting church that I had never visited before.  It is the church of the Archconfraternity of Santa Maria dell'Orto which was established centuries ago and has a special connection to gardens and the fruits of the land.  I found the whole morning very pleasant.  I even met a young seminarian from Northern Italy who was helping out.  He is fascinated by the U.S. and is anxious to visit.  We exchanged addresses and phone numbers so who knows, Marco may come to Minnesota some day.

I took advantage of proximity and visited the Churches of S. Cecilia and S. Francesco a Ripa.  

S. Cecilia

S. Francesco a Ripa

This afternoon I have been finishing up laundry.  Getting as much packed as I can, although I have a few things that will need to be nestled in so I can't quite do everything.  I'll likely stay here for supper tonight as I want to turn in early so I can get up by 4:30 to shower, dress and finalize my packing.  Then off to Salzburg!