Rome, episode VI

My day begins by changing rooms in the hotel; my new one is bigger but also noisier because it is from the side of the road.

I begin my day by getting my ticket for the audience of the pope. An old nun handles me my ticket with a big smile, I thought I was late and it would be more difficult!!

All around me there are foreign pilgrims, mainly from the USA. The weather is sunny and I sit in the middle of a row. Next to me there is a priest reading his paper, his name is Mark I engage a talk with him. He is very devoted to Sainte Therese de Lisieux and shows me a relic of her bone given to him by a friend; what a coincidence, this same morning I was browsing a book in the cafeteria about the photos of Sainte Therese de Lisieux.

Then here comes the Pope, he is in his papa mobile and makes a tour around the crowd. I feel the responsibilities lying on his shoulders. I will pray for the pope more when I return to Beirut.



After the audience I have lunch with Mark then we go touring the city together sharing experiences. I feel grateful for this encounter. Mark talks to me about the book of Jean Pierre de La Caussade “Abandonment to Divine Providence”, a book I will buy later during the same day and begin reading as its subject is a main point in my pilgrimage.

We visit Saint the Onofrio monastery over the Janiculum hill. The monastery has a beautiful view over the city and an exquisite internal court surrounded by mural paintings.




Mark is bewildered by the fiat cinquo cento. he had never seen such a small car in the USA!!

Then we go back to Saint Peter Basilica, we go up the cupola, stairs are narrow but finally we arrive at the top where a beautiful view is waiting.

Mark is going upstairs.

View of a lateral chapel. picture taken fom the cupola.

Rome, episode V

After my tour in the park I have a delightful mushroom Pizza in front of Saint John of Lateran Basilica. I visit the basilica from the inside and have a walk in the internal court, very peaceful!

Inside the basilica confession chairs are present; each one dedicated to one language … what about Arabic? Shouldn’t the Church talk Arabic? It’s maybe our role as Christians in the Middle East to be a living Gospel.

I am a little shocked by people throwing coins over the tomb located under the altar, “a pagan way of doing” I said to myself.

At the end of the day I pass by the Coliseum and admire it from the outside then I visit two Jesuit churches: the church of Gesu and the church of Saint Ignatius where a dome is painted in trompe-l’oeil.

Seeing so many churches everywhere make me insensible emotionally to those beautiful religious artifacts, I ask Jesus for a new faith.

Rome, episode IV

Tuesday November 14^th, 2006

I begin my day by visiting the catacombs of saint Calixtus, I meet a Croatian priest in the bus, he shows me the way to take. At the catacombs I have to walk around 3 kilometers to get to the entrance, beautiful road, surrounded by green fields, the weather is sunny and it’s good having a brisk walk.

When I arrive at the catacombs I take the tour in French and get into the bowels of the Earth. There, I am not very impressed, and have no romantic views of sufferings of first Christians. What is happening, where have gone my emotions? Could somebody loose his faith in Rome? Is it possible? Or am I discovering a new faith, one that is not based on emotions? A Very new experience!

Same day, I rent a bike around the catacombs and go cycling into the Appia Antica Park. There is nobody to take my picture so I get a snap of my shadow. After doing this photo I find it’s a good idea; more humble than a direct photo… a direct portrait photo is arrogant, it want to catch the soul of the person and actually shows us only the external aspect and some of the internal part.. The photo of the shadow underlines that we are catching only part of the reality of the person in front of us.