While a virtual experience is perhaps better than nothing, for the meantime “you just had to be there” to experience it all.

It’s been a real privilege to be part of this Marist Places Pilgrimage. It’s our hope  that you’ve enjoyed reading these public experiences, and if you’re keen to take a fuller part you engage in whatever procedure your “unit” has in place, and apply for the next Marist Places Pilgrimage.

One word of warning however, it’s something that some of us were told before we came, and it probably is the best bit of advice that we received: bring a good pair of shoes to walk in, and some good socks.

There is a mood and already a commitment from several people to continue to develop this site. And while the blog aspect will halt, perhaps until the next group comes through, we hope to be able to enhance this space in order to help people through the experience, perhaps even without a Marist guide.

In signing off it’s important to acknowledge the people who along the way have had direct input to this resource. Tim Costello, Christoph Kochmann, Bernd Kordes, Craig Larkin, Matt Morris, John Murphy Denis O’Brien, Bernardo Petero and Charlie Randle.

There’s also all those who have told their friends about it. We’ve not submitted it to any Search Engines, however word of mouth has meant up to this point, the site registered just over 2000 unique visitors in the short time it’s been operating. Those who have visited us here, have come from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Fiji, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mexico, Seychelles, Spain, Sweden, Tonga, United States, and Vanuatu.

Thanks to you all.

Occasionally when we have Mass at the churches we visit, sometimes others who happen to be in the church join us. They’re made welcome. Today was no exception and at the end of Mass we discovered that one of those who by chance had joined us was Hubert Bonnet-Eymard’s cousin who was visiting from Lyon!

The journey to St Paul’s was by bus and a packed Metro. The train was crowded, however as is the way in Rome there’s always room for one more. In this instance were were 12 and still no problems. These crowded situations are ones that we’ve been warned about and getting on the train John Murphy, as a matter of course, put his hand in his pocket to protect the contents. In crowded situations like this people are understandably pushed. Pushing also provides a distraction for pick-pockets to flourish and as quick as he felt it, a foreign hand was removed from the entrance of his pocket. In front of of John were two men who for the rest of the journey John watched like a hawk. Tim Costello was to John’s left, he was also exposed to the threat. Warned of the situation, Tim also focused his gaze in their direction and in getting off the train he observed that it’s a shame that Italians have a reputation for pick-pocketing when most offenders are as these were, Eastern Europeans.

An issue that’s come back to haunt several of us is the phone bill from La Neyliere. Those wanting to make toll calls purchased a phone card at the St Symphorien shops, paying 7 Euro with the understanding that they would get 150 international minutes. As it turned out, the card was bogus, so as well as paying for it, the La Neyliere phone bill was also charged and at a rate that was greater than the normal toll call rate that La Neyliere pays! The amount in question, was in excess of 250 Euro and has left a large unexpected hole in some pockets.

The Catacombs of St Callistus are four levels deep and are some 20km long. Over the years there have been around 500,000 people buried here. This is sacred ground, space that commands respect, it’s also a place where it’s easy to get lost. People are therefore not let lose in the Catacombs and we were provided with an Indian guide to provide commentary and a person in “mufti” that followed up the rear and made sure we all stuck together.

Among the signs displayed prominently around Catacombs is one that says “No Photographs” and to make the point even stronger it has a picture of a camera with a big red cross through it. The truth be known this is Italy, the only place I know where rules are as flexible as they come, where, for example, there are very few lanes marked in the road because the Italians wouldn’t know what they meant for, it’s a place where people park their cars all day in 2 hour parking zones and across pedestrian crossings or even in the middle of the street while they nip into the store! So when you see a sign that says no photographs, one doesn’t get too worried by it. Least that’s Bernardo’s view of things, an experienced burglar of photos in all sorts of venues where in the Roman sense photos are forbidden. So for example he has several photos of John Paul II’s tomb, one or two from the Sistine Chapel, and some from the Capuchin Crypt with all the bones.

Bernardo says that he needs only three things for the pilgrimage, Bible, Rosary Beads and Camera, the later being his journal. The entry for 25 September 2008 however will have to register a blank.

By making sure he was at the end of the line and turning the flash on the camera off, Bernardo thought he’d be ok to sneak a couple of shots, but the crafty Fijian photographer proved no match for cunning Indian tour guide as out the corner of the tour guide’s eye Bernardo was spotted, and from the depths of Catacombs we heard… “Brother, I say Brother, there are no photographs Brother. Ah, Brother, did you hear me Brother?”

There are special moments on a pilgrimage and this was one of them, and from the time we parted company with our guide, the trip home was riddled with reminders for Bernardo, who in turn entered into the fray and loved every moment of it. Yes there may be a gap in Bernardo’s journal for the morning of September 25, but I’m sure he’ll remember the Catacombs in Rome.

The evening was a tad more sober, visiting the community of St Egidio for their evening prayer. The St Egidio community is a global lay community with over 50,000 members, and while made this visit special is because the community gets its name from the Church of Sant ‘Egidio Trastevere in Rome. We did not however visit the original Church, it’s no longer used by the community for evening prayer because the numbers coming are too large, instead they use the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, just 25 meters down the road. The Basilica itself is of interest because it is one of the oldest churches in Rome, perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated. Although rebuilt in the 12th Century, the basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340s AD.

The experience of the evening prayer aside, what also interested was that it was “religiously” kept to 30 minutes, because it is broadcast, and so for example on this particular night the sermon was a little long, so the final hymn had to be omitted… Parish priests of the world please note.

The afternoon was free and people more or less went their own ways, however one or two of us joined for what is nearing a final walk around these magical streets of Rome. Our strategy today was to look for significant movements of people and explore. It proved to be a good move as lots of little streets with artisans, buskers and food outlets were all thriving.

I often find it’s the little things that amuse, today was no exception.

There are lots of police in Rome, all sorts of different varieties too. I really don’t know what they do other than hang around together. Today however went a little way to  helping my understanding of how the police operate. More often than not, there will be two traffic points men on duty at a large intersection, generally they work in together. Today though they were working so well together they just stood in the middle of the road, chatted to each other and let the traffic flow in any direction it wanted. The only time they acted was when too many pedestrians were legally crossing the road on the Pedestrian Crossing and were therefore holding up the traffic. Fantastic.

In a different culture it’s sometimes hard to know how far to push things. In hindsight I perhaps should have been a little more adventurous, however I decided not to take a photo of a male on the side of the road, getting dressed up as an old woman. With so many beggars in Rome I’m presuming he was doing it to beg. While there are no doubt many sad stories in Rome, it’s hard to know whether this person was one of them. The fact that he is going to such lengths as dressing up as an old woman to beg may suggest that his is such a story, or it could just be another form of street theatre. What is fairly certain, that with a tax rate nearing 50c in the Euro, and a heavy dose of tourists in the city, these people can make considerable sums of money. Evidently it’s not uncommon for them to earn at least 100 Euro, daily, and tax free. Some, those a little more adventurous, those who perform earn considerably more.

Coming to the end of our time in Europe, for those of us who come from much younger countries, one of our lasting impressions has been how old it is. It’s easy to read dates on pieces of paper, however to experience the reality is just something else. There are many beautiful things in Rome that I could write about, however one not so beautiful, but none the less, long-lasting is “Bernini’s Elephant”. The truth be known we visited the Elephant last week, however it was only today that again presented the opportunity for a photo.

In a city where there are so many uplifting and holy paintings and sculptures, why select Bernini’s Elephant? Well firstly it was certainly something that caught the imagination of the group, but more generally is perhaps a daily, but certainly very graphic reminder to to the priests and brothers living in the Dominician monastery, but really to all of us, that if a different attitude or approach were taken to a situation it may have resulted in a slightly different world view.

To this day when the monks wake and open their curtains, they’re greeted with an image of an elephant’s backside.

Of course there’s a story attached to it and as I understand it goes something like this.

In 1665, a five and a half meter tall obelisk inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics was found in the garden on the Dominican monastery. Pope Alexander VII decided to have the obelisk displayed in front on the monastery and Father Domenico Paglia, who was also an architect, proposed a design involving dogs. The Pope however rejected it and asked Bernini to submit a design.

Bernini chose an elephant as a symbol of strength. But Father Paglia argued against the design, stating that it was common knowledge that “no weight should rest vertically above an empty space, as it would not be steady or long-lasting.” Father Paglia insisted that a cube be inserted under the elephant’s belly. Bernini opposed any modification; but was forced to change his original design. Never quite happy with the final product Bernini had his revenge: he pointed the elephant’s behind towards the monastery and tail is pointing slightly to the left, in salutation.

Saying, as it were, goodbye to Edwin highlighted the nuts and bolts issue that this was the only opportunity for us to have our final group photograph. The truth be known it would only be our second such photo, and it was taken in the Church of St Stephano, after Mass at Assisi.

We’ve done quite a number of day trips so we were fairly experienced. For some getting up early, despite the setting of their alarms means a disturbed nights sleep, the threat of missing in this case the taxis to the train station, weighing on their minds. Not that it mattered that much, least that seems to have been the evidence as the moving train soon facilitated the need for any catchup that was required.

Just as an even more sideline than normal. In setting out from the General House, we ordered three taxis to take us to the train station. All from the same company, all traveling to the same destination and at the same time of day, but none of the prices were the same. All came in under the 20 Euro mark. The cheapest was 15 Euro, the most expensive 18 Euro.

Once we got to Assisi, whether any of us were “in” to St Francis or not kind of became immaterial because the place was swimming in people. From there on in the sheer momentum carried the day. The energy and the devotion was very impressive and somewhat stunned a number of us, who while grateful for the opportunity to visit Assisi never expected the place to be so populated with people who’d made such an effort to travel the distance.

If the number of people on a Monday at Assisi was didn’t make a clear statement about the impact of this man, it was clear from overheard conversations and the way people acted in the Churches, that these were not all pious Catholics getting a devotional kick, rather they were people from all walks of life and  beliefs.

St Francis certainly had a way about him and although dying in 13th Century, obviously still has wide appeal, his message of simplicity and peace reaching beyond the man-made boundaries of faith, even today.

Is it any wonder then that Pope John Paul II hosted a meeting of Church leaders at the nearby St Mary of the Angels church where St Francis died.

As well as the devotional aspects of visiting St Mary of the Angels church in Assisi, and the church inside a church, another “feature” is the garden and more particularly the two doves that nest inside on St Francis’ statue. Unfortunately the doves were down the corridor today and didn’t seem to want to come back. In our most un-St Francis like way and in the name of a photo a couple of us tried, indeed on two occasions, to encourage the doves back to their nest, however they had minds of their own and weren’t particularly media friendly.

Losing Marcel for about 20 minutes was really the only hitch of the day. Marcel got distracted courtesy of Matt’s iPod, and I believe the Bee Gees. (If his momentary high pitched singing was interpreted correctly.) If you were going to get lost in Assisi in something other than Francis it’s hard to better the Bee Gees. It wasn’t as though St Francis had started a joke, nor that we weren’t trying to get a message to Marcel, it was just that for a little while it seemed like were were just islands in the stream of people and our days lonely. Averting a tragedy, Marcel returned, guilty, but very much stayin’ alive.

Actually there was another small hitch, very inconsequential as it turned out, and totally in keeping with Marist on pilgrimage, there was no room at the Inn for lunch. Assisi being such a popular place we had to settle for “second best” in a packed restaurant, three tables all with spectacular unimpeded views over the plains. Life’s tough.

Home in time for dinner courtesy of the Route 75 bus, and credit where credit is due. Sometimes we seem to have a long wait at the bottom of the hill for this bus and the route gets “bad wraps”, however tonight it was as though it liked us and knew we were coming.

The title of this journal entry is “last drinks gentlemen please.” It’s not “time, gentlement please,” but getting close. Tomorrow we have a free day, so there won’t be an entry and after that we’re pretty much on the home straight. Am just signalling that there will be at least one, if not two more journal entries, however all the notes associated with the respective places that we’ve visiting will begin to appear shortly.

The morning went well and we could clearly see why both churches were on the must see list.

At the beginning of the day we’d been warned that there was likely to be rain, certainly the temperatures were a little cooler, but we’ve been so lucky with the weather, “we’ll be right”.

If there was any doubt in our minds that there would be rain, confirmation soon came in the form of at least six umbrella sales people between the time of getting off the bus to the time we entered the doors of St John Lateran and by the time we’d left our second Basilica, St Mary Major, the rain as forecat had arrived right on time.

Still not deterred we made our way back down town but away from the tourist spots and the high priced lunches. Surprisingly, not, Pizza or Pasta were on the menu. Marcel ordered Pizza, however when it arrived, one look at it and he said, “This is not Pizza!” Marcel is very diplomatic so registered his observation only to his table, plus the brisk service meant the proprietor’s attention was now elsewhere. Prego. The imagination can paint wicked pictures at times. Clearly the influence of American-style pizza with its thicker crusts had more of a strong-hold in the African pizza market.

Over lunch the rain became much heavier, what was a few drops became a torrent. As a consequence, the street price of umbrellas went up 2 Euro and the exact same type of umbrella that Bernard paid 3 Euro for earlier in the morning, now with the heavy rain the asking price was now 5 Euro.

The second consequence was we decided to give the Vatican a miss. Here’s hoping that we might be able to get back later, perhaps on one of our free mornings or afternoons. They say that the best time to visit is either early morning, that is arrive there around 7am or during the siesta time in the early afternoon.

With the afternoon now effectively free time, and the weather so inclement it’s really stay at home weather. Time I’m sure will be well spent and given the security alarms were accidentally set off twice during the night, once late and then again early in the morning, some may play “catch up”. Those traveling with ear plugs would be useless when and if a burglar invaded and a little bit of reading might be an option.

However going back to earlier in the day our visit was nicely timed for the visit of the Heralds of the Gospel. They’re group of mainly lay people who in any other context might be confused for being in fancy dress. Leather boots, large Rosary beads, chains around their waist, striking dress and very clean cut. They approached St John Lateran en-masse. Coming home I did a little bit of research on them and there’s a 9 minute clip on YouTube if you’re interested. Each to their own, however they’re getting followers. I’m still not sure what they actually do.

The temperatures have dropped significantly and quickly here in Rome. When first arriving it was so hot at night that people were saying they slept on top of the bed. They are now saying that they are under a sheet and some have even used to using another layer too. The locals are really enjoying the night time temperatures because after some months of really hot weather they are finding it easier to sleep. It seems as though the temperatures have dropped around 10 degrees in about a week! Daytime temperatures are mid 20’s and very pleasant I must say.

Going back a couple of days, Wednesday began with a Mass in the chapel here at the General House all in French! It came as a surprise and once again made us aware of how difficult it is for those in our group first whose first language is something other than English.

Wednesday was dedicated to examining the “Missionary” influence on Jean-Claude Colin and we spent some time studying the Office for the Evangelisation of Peoples, formerly known as “Propaganda Fide.” Because this was an office and we weren’t going into a church, it was mentioned that we didn’t need to wear our long trousers. Matt Morris, who is a keen wearer of shorts had already decked himself up in his longs. He thought of changing but decided against it saying that “I’ll save my knees for the General Administration in the afternoon.” A reference to our meeting that we had with them later on in the day.

Thursday was again another venture into the city to once again emphasise the importance of missions in Jean-Claude Colin’s thinking. Our focus today was on the relationship with Bishop Pompallier and we visited the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

As well as the Church, we also took the time to visit the much celebrated cemetery of the Capuchins.

Originally in their Constitutions or Rule, the Capuchins were promised that they’d be buried in the Holy Land. When this was no longer feasible, earth from the Holy Land was shipped to this cemetery under the Church of the Immaculate Conception and they were buried there. However when this space got full, their remains were disinterred to permit the burial of new Friars the bones now decorate the walls and combine to make static displays! There at some stage must have been lots of Capuchins because the cemetry has several rooms each with a different display emphasis! Most rooms however have heads, and some have full skeletons of monks still dressed in their habits. There’s also a section for hip bones another for femurs and so on. Not being a medical student at all it’s hard to identify all the bones, more particularly when they’ve been combined and used a light shades!

It’s evidently considered a great honour to be buried here however I wouldn’t be using it for vocations promotion, and in fairness to the Capuchins wanted to close the cemetry for public viewing, however the City of Rome wouldn’t allow it. There were streams of people going through.

Moving on.

The usual drill is that after attending to our work in the morning, we head off home for dinner in the middle of the day. It may not seem that we are packing lots into our sorties, that is doing several things before coming home again, however the combination of being home for dinner at 12:30pm, the Rome transport system and traffic, particularly the later, puts a fairly tight constraint on things. It’s also easy to be swallowed up by what’s going on in Rome, so in a sence the coming home for lunch, the traffic and transport system does us a service and brings a certain focus to our interest.

This is a very well organised pilgrimage of Marist places and most days we time our arrival home pretty much to perfection; that is in time to have cooling drink before lunch. However today it all went wrong. Not any fault of our own, but it is an example of what can happen in Rome and why our journeys into the city are for specific purposes.

For some reason today there was a protest rally down down town which meant that as well as attracting a good number of extra people to central city, two streets were also blocked by the Police. Bedlham. A trip that might have been ordinarily 15 minutes ‘quickly’ became 45. The locals were getting irate and wanted the driver to open the doors, but the bus had been directed “off route” and he was only allowed to let passengers off at bus stops. Compounding the issue was the bus was quite full and the physical temperature inside was getting warmer. People too were “heating up”. An awkward situation all round relieved when the doors were finally opened. The locals shouted jubilantly and for a split-moment some Marist Pilgrims and the locals were “as one”.

After only two days of pilgrimage in Rome, there is clearly a different dynamic at work in ourselves. While occasionally venturing out from La Neyliere, the source of our energy seems to have been more or less internally generated, from within the wider group. Here in Rome the energy sources seem to be generated somewhat more from external sources. What’s that saying, well nothing earth shattering, just that it’s quite different.

The magnitude of Jean-Claude Collin’s journeys from France to Rome, done in much less comfortable circumstances than ours, began to impact on us today as post-breakfast tiredness struck! It’s an odd time of day to be tired but it wasn’t until it was voiced, that people felt less isolated about it and less worried about what was happening to them. Whatever the reasons, and they’ll be many rather than singular.

The day however was given over to Ignatius of Loyola and the influence he had on Jean-Claude Colin, significant visits included Ignatius’ quarters and the Churches of St Ignazio and The Gesu.

As well as visiting these fantastic places, we also walked down this small street, it’s name escapes me, which it would seem is almost solely dedicated to selling liturgical vestments and other sacred items. It could have easily been a significant distraction, and we did stop momentarily at Gammarelli’s, traditionally the maker of the Popes vestments, and where we were told, some Marists get their doctoral gowns made, however we kept “on task.”

Perhaps a re-visit is something to pencil in when we have some free time.

Before leaving the subject of liturgical vestments, if a quick view of the window displays are anything to go by, it looks as though the liturgical fashion seems to be taking on a more of a “retro” look.

While not quite on the topic of the Jesuits’ influence of Jean-Claude, it struck me visiting St Ignazio and The Gesu, one can only but admire the creativity, commitment and vision of those involved in the construction of these stunning spaces. Furthermore, given what we saw today, is it really all that surprising that the Jesuits are are using modern day tools to build modern day structures and are making such a creative and visionary commitment, to serve the current day missionary needs of the Church through the likes of Sacred Space, Pray as you go, CathNews and the Online Ministries at Creighton University?

Perhaps I digress too much.

Part of the afternoon session was brought forward, giving us some time to complete our work and take in some of the other sites of Rome. While free to do what we wanted, most gravitated to the Piazza Navona, a fairly spectacular area of restaurants, buskers, bars and artists. Having seen this, at this point some pushed on back home, while others stopped at the “Big Apple” for a quiet drink.

Rather than heading back the way we came, Tim suggested that we go an alternative route, one “a little bit more interesting”, so off we headed. Down a little alley and around the corner, the first shop we passed was, what seemed, an impressive “knickers” shop. While it may have been interesting, custody of the eyes was called for.

Knickers aside, the alternative route was indeed very interesting, small cobble-stoned streets, lots of people, activity, and the mingling of man and machine. From time to time too, there was an occasional toot to get out of the way and gesture if you didn’t.

Jean-Claude Colin came to Rome five times, and sometimes he stayed quite some time. I’m beginning to see why.

In order to get there we’ve been given a weekly pass for the public transport in Rome. The pass works on light rail, the Metro and buses. It’s a great system, it costs only 16 Euro a week and you only have to validate your ticket on the first trip you take, and then you can hop on and hop off any one of the transport options at any time of the day.

The pilgrims progress aside, news today is a little slow. You get that. However there have been one or two things perhaps worth mentioning.

Firstly last evening a few of us went for a walk to familiarise ourselves a little more with the area and ended up at a nearby cafe. It was a warm evening so we sat outside. A man came hobbling down the road he was heavily reliant on crutches and could hardly put one foot in front of the other. As he got closer he started moving towards the curb, could he be…? Yes he was going to, and put his crutches over his shoulder, got on the motor scooter and took off. Got to admire his determination to be on the move.

Unrelated to the man with crutches incident, about 15 seconds later he was followed down the road by a woman on another scooter with large white fluffy a dog, feeling very much at home and in it’s rightful place being transported around. It almost seemed to share the job of driving. The things you see.

The other item that gathered general interest were three small Italian nuns. Dressed differently, we guessed they came from different congregations, none of which any of us knew. We actually met them twice, once on the light rail unit, and they appeared again, as we waited for our bus.

The stories of Italian nuns are legendary and while we’ve been warned about other features of the city, no one had yet made mention of little Italian nuns. So this advice was, as it were, given “on the run”.  Simply put it was, “don’t be fooled by their size, they’re very outcome-driven”, or words to that effect.

It looked like the advice was right on the mark. It was a very busy time of the day and the bus would probably be very full. We, like others, had arrived at the bus stop some minutes before the nuns, but the way they positioned themselves showed they were experienced at this game and there was no way they were not going to get on that bus, if not be first on it.

Time was passing and to keep our interest active, a challenge was issued, any of our group getting on the bus before these nuns would win 2 Euro. The originator of the challenge was told by those more wise, that people couldn’t take his money. Not wouldn’t, but couldn’t. It was a moral decision, that is their getting on the bus first was a done deal and people of good conscience, the confreres, couldn’t accept the challenge because there wasn’t one.

Those more wise were right on the mark.

The day ended with a fairly impressive thunder storm.

For those who have never visited here before our eyes were opened at the sheer size of the place, it is a building that can accommodate up to 25 adults. In addition it also provides working spaces for around 10. Most of the pilgrimage group have been here before, however even they had their eyes opened by the recent renovations. While the Chapel is the crown in the jewel, the remainder of the house has also been given a life. A building of this stature would be easy to convert into something spectacular, and while the renovations have made it comfortable, fresh and serviceable, it’s far from “over the top.”

One of the gaps in today’s programme provided those in search of “Phone Cards” the opportunity to venture out. Visesio Teugasiale, a Brother from the island of Wallis who works in the General House, was just the man. He knew the place to buy the cards and offered to drive us to the shop. It was the first experience we had of driving around the Italian streets where road rules at best seem to be an “optional recommendation”.

As we were driving down a one way street, the site of someone nonchalantly coming up the wrong way led Visesio to be asked. “How do you find driving in Rome?”

Laughing, he replied. “Not a problem. Before I became a Brother I used to drive trucks for the French army.” Enough said.

Mission accomplished we were back home in time to join everyone for a pre-dinner drink, it was a very pleasant day with temperatures in the mid to late 20’s and everyone gathered outside. The occasion also proved to be an opportunity to further the ANZAC spirit. Brothers in arms and all that…

Matt Morris was enjoying a lovely cool “Becks” beer from the fridge, well so he thought until Tony Corcoran kindly drew Matt’s attention to the fact that he was drinking a non-alcoholic beer! It’s true, we saw it with our own eyes. The “late money” is now picking he’ll be wearing a Kaftan next.

Lunch provided Kevin Mowbray, the Superior of the General House the opportunity to welcome us and what followed was a multi-course lunch. Yes “multi-course” as I gave up counting after the 4th one. Not an every-day occurrence, it was a gracious welcome and a delicious introduction to Italian dining in a way most of us had never experienced before.

The afternoon was free before the General House community and pilgrims gathered at 5pm to introduce themselves in a slightly more formal way.

In between time there’s been a little more rain again today and the temperature has dropped a little making it somewhat more pleasant for sleeping tonight.