Hope to Humility

We had our last class today, it was also the last of 3 on Homiletics.  We all leave for Assisi on Sunday for a week long retreat and then home to the USA next Saturday.

Today after class I changed into formal attire and walked to the Casa Santa Maria to pick-up Fr. Javier Diaz, we then made our way on foot to St. Mary Major.  There we were both invited to lunch with Cardinal Law, the retired Archpriest of the Basilica.  We had a very nice and gracious lunch with His Eminence and his Secretary Msgr. McInery.

After lunch I walked Fr. Javier back to his residence and then took a long meandering walk back to the Janiculum.  When I started my walk to the Casa in the morning I also took the long way and there was a lovely little Church called Santa Lucia del Gonfalone that was open so I popped in to say a prayer, it had a beautiful image of our Lady of Hope over the Altar.  On my way back I found a Church open that had an image of Our Lady of Humility over the Altar.

I also stopped by Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the Dominican Church I have written about before.  It is near the Pantheon and is so richly decorated it is hard to show the whole place.  The interior is Gothic and has a stunning ceiling painted in a wonderful blue color.  It houses the body of St. Catherine of Siena (but not the head and thumb which were stolen by the Siena folks and you have to go to that city to see the head and thumb).  One of my favorite painters, Blessed Fra Angelico, is buried in this Church.  It also has beautiful paintings by the Spoleto artist Filippino Lippi.  Oh, and a real great example of the talent of Gian Lorenzo Bernini who did a lot of sculpture for this Church but one piece in particular exemplifies his genius with marble.

S. Lucia del Gonfalone

Our Lady of Hope over the Altar

 This is the main Altar at St. Andrew's Church on the Corso.  The Altar is by Carlo Maderno.

St. Andrew's

 This is a side Chapel that contains the body of a Cardinal who is a Saint and died in the 18th Century.

Cardinal Saint

 There is a very nice marble and mosaic piece over the entry to the apartments where Cardinal Law lives.

Apartment door lintel

Myself, Cardinal Law and Fr. Javier

 On the walk back I took this picture of the Column of Trajan, it once had the statue of Trajan on it but the Popes melted him down and put St. Peter on top.

Trajan's Column

 Here a good interior shot of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, see the great blue ceiling.

 This is the tomb of Blessed Fra Angelico, a highly skilled sublime painter who was also a Dominican Friar and died in the Friary of Sopra Minerva.  He is buried in the walkway to the left of the Altar not far from the back door of the Church!  Blessed John Paul II named him a Blessed of the Church.

Bl. Fra Angelico's tomb

Great Mosaic recently discovered under the plaster, to the left is St. Patrick of Ireland!

 Here are photos of the work of Filippino Lippi in a side chapel.

Altar Piece

right wall of the Chapel

 Here is a stunning piece of the amazing work of Gain Lorenzo Bernini.  There are numerous examples of his work in this Church but this one really shows his genius and is incredible talent of making marble look like fabric, it is a memorial to Maria Raggi.