Day 18 - Papal Audience, Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, Rooms of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Gesù

Day 18 started fairly early. We decided to start our journey to Vatican City at 7:30 so as to make it to St. Peters Square before the herd showed up for the Wednesday papal audience. The subway gave us a taste for what we were to find. Once we arrived at the Termini station (where every subway line in Rome meets) the train was already packed to the gills.

We arrived at the Vatican just before 8. Security was surprisingly lacking - scanners and guards were in place but they seemed to be more of showpieces than actual security checkpoints. We were able to secure prime real estate in the square. Most people try to push forward, thinking that getting closer to the basilica will give them a better chance of seeing the pope up close. We were told that the best strategy was to actually camp out at the back of the frontmost area. This was right along the popemobile's course, so seeing him up close would be easy.

Our spot in St. Peters Square

Being there at 8, we were a full two and a half hours early. Luckily, we brought food and books to entertain ourselves (and thank God for the provided seats). Unfortunately, the forecast for the morning was intermittent showers, so umbrellas were constantly opened and closed as we waited.

Some bishops taking their seats, some shielding themselves from the rain with Vatican City umbrellas

One of the Italian bishops gave a lengthy introduction in Italian. As was the case for the entire service, I was able to pick out bits and pieces of what was said so that I could at least explain the gist to the rest of the group.

Francis then came on the screens, shown in the inside of a different building (not St. Peters) bestowing blessings on disabled children. He then emerged from the side of St. Peters in the popemobile. We actually all laughed at how fast they had him going. From where we were standing, all we could see at first was his white torso zipping across the sea of people.

He snaked through the barricades, occasionally stopping at different people. He exchanged his zucchetto with someone pretty early on, and stopped for a long time at a group from Argentina.

He finally made his way near us, and we were able to see him pretty darn close up.

Finally, he stopped in the center aisle and ascended the stairs in front of the basilica.

He addressed the crowd for a time in Italian before taking a seat for some more talks

Following everything he said, bishops and priests from different countries got up to repeat the words (or at least a summary of the words) in a number of languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, German, and Polish, that I can remember); this part of the event took a very long time. As the service continued, rain was on and off and, like clockwork, the crowd responded with a choreography of opening and closing umbrellas.

Francis closed the service with the Our Father (Pater noster) in Latin (YAY LATIN!!) and gave an apostolic blessing, also in Latin. I was very surprised but pleased to see that, with all the rest of what he's doing in the church, he still has the sense to use the traditional liturgical language for the apostolic language. Maybe there's some hope there after all (though it's hardly a start).

He then greeted every bishop there, which was a long process that we didn't stay for.

We got a quick picture in the square before heading out for lunch nearby.

Panorama of the crowds

After lunch (and a much needed nap) we met up with Fr. Bergin and Fr. Paris in front of the Pontifical Gregorian Institute (aptly nicknamed "the Greg"). With Fr. Paris was Fr. Lasheras, a former Eagle, who would be our tour guide for the various Jesuit places of importance around Rome.

Our first stop was Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, a relatively small church near the Palazzo del Quirinale (the presidential palace, former papal summer residence).

This church was built to be the church for the Jesuit novitiate in Rome (for the Jesuit novices). The church itself was designed by Bernini, who so loved the Jesuits that he designed the church for free. According to Bernini's son, Bernini would often sit for hours inside marveling at the work that he considered to be one of his most perfect. My pictures don't really give you a sense of the layout of this church. The church has no hard corners anywhere; the entire place is elliptical, much like the layout of St. Peters Square (another design of Bernini's), with chapels at regular intervals around the walls.

Buried in this church is the body of St. Stanislaus Kostka, a very famous Jesuit after whom the dorm on BC's Upper Campus is named. He was a very young man (17) who wanted to join the Jesuits but was not allowed to do so by his family. He then decided to run away and walked from Vienna all the way to Rome on foot. After being accepted into the novitiate in Rome, he soon passed away.

The rooms in which he lived were recreated next to this church and were filled with the original paintings and doors that adorned the rooms before.

Polychromal marble sculpture of St. Stanislaus

View of the reconstructed (and now gilded) rooms of St. Stanislaus

Tomb of St. Stanislaus

We then moved on to the church of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola (St. Ignatius of Loyola). This church was dedicated to St. Ignatius, but his body is not found here (we'll get to that in a second).

The ceiling fresco in this church was most fascinating. The artist, Andrea Pozzo, was a Jesuit brother and a master of perspective. Standing in the center and looking upwards, it actually appears as though the church ceiling continues far, far up into the sky. In fact, that church ceiling is actually at the level of the windows and more or less flat; Pozzo was such a mastermind that, using light beams, he could tell the level of refraction and how he would have to alter an image to give the appearance of nonexistent depth. The painting seems continuous with the church walls and gives you the impression of a gateway straight into Heaven.

The incredible ceiling painting of the church

Detail of the ceiling, showing St. Ignatius in the center in gray, St. Francis Xavier on the right in black,
and St. Francis Borgia on the left in red

Entrance of the church, showing the ceiling fresco that makes it look
as though the church continues into the heavens; the ceiling
is at the height of the top of the window

Another interesting trick of this church is the dome. The church itself, being so grand, could not have been built with only the funds of the Society of Jesus. Therefore, they had a wealthy benefactor, a cardinal, who paid for the church. This man, however, died before the church could be finished and the funds dried up before the dome was built. So, in fact, this church has no dome. The apparent "dome" is actually a large piece of canvas draped across the opening on which is painted the likeness of the inside of a dome. From the center of the church, it looks just as if the dome were real. As you walk forward towards the main apse near the altar and under the "dome", however, it becomes evident that the dome doesn't actually exist because the painting morphs. Very interesting stuff.

Our next stop was to the rooms of St. Ignatius, where he lived and worked in Rome.

The building in which the rooms are held was not the original structure that Ignatius would have known. The new building was built around the existing four or so rooms of Ignatius following damage to the old building. The low wooden beamed ceilings told you that you were in rooms that Ignatius would have known well.

With original furniture

These rooms, following the death of Ignatius, were used by a number of the generals of the Society of Jesus. Some of the furniture and such within was used by Ignatius himself, but some was also brought in and used by the following generals.

In one of the rooms stood a bronze sculpture of Ignatius' head. Apparently, this head was cast from a "death mask" of Ignatius. For those of you who don't know, a common practice before photographs was the casting of a death mask of a recently deceased individual to capture what they looked like at their time of death. Therefore, this sculpture presents probably the closest likeness of Ignatius that exists. The pillar upon which it stands is also accurately measured so that the top of Ignatius' head stands at the height of Ignatius himself.

The final room was a chapel. In this chapel on the floor was a special brick with a Latin inscription. The translation is "Here died Father Ignatius". The brick marks the location of Ignatius' bed in which he passed away in 1556. Mass is said in this chapel due to the special connection with Ignatius. We actually had to leave quickly as a Mass was scheduled.

The last stop on our tour of the Jesuits locations in Rome was the Church of the Gesù. This church is the mother church of the Society of Jesus and is dedicated to the holy name of Jesus Christ.

Ceiling fresco showing the "Name of Christ" (IHS) casting away the 7 Vices

What came as a bit of a surprise to me was the presence of a very special object within the Gesù: the arm of St. Francis Xavier. The rest of his body is not in the church (it's actually in Goa), but his arm is on display in a reliquary above his altar.

In addition to this relic (which was quite important to me) was the tomb of St. Ignatius. He was buried immediately across the church from St. Francis Xavier, in his entirety.

After this final tour, we said our goodbyes to the priests and went off to dinner.

Following dinner, I hosted a mini viewing of Angels and Demons as a couple people wanted to see exactly what I was talking about regarding various sites we had seen around Rome. It really is quite impressive how much of that movie (book) takes place in locations that we have been visiting for the past three weeks. 

Tomorrow, we will visit Santa Praessede and will be traveling back to the Vatican for a tour of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and a meeting with the archbishop that heads it up.

Thus ends the 18th day.