Rome Still There

Status, re. "eternal", remains unchanged.

Had to go back and check to make sure I hadn't been dreaming about this amazing place I found about half way down the Italian boot.


Winnie the Cat looked disdainful, but was secretly pleased that the monkey was going away and would not attempt to sit in her chair all weekend.


Tea on Saturday morning with friends.

I know a young cleric in Rome who is a very snappy dresser, but who, for some reason, and although he claims to know how, will not sew on buttons that have fallen off his cassock or coat and will not put up a hem that has fallen down. We happened to have brought along the sewing kit.


"Thank you ladies..."

Met the infamous Shawn Tribe who seemed on close inspection to be very nice, well-behaved and normal. It seems that every time I am assured that Traditionalist Catholics are Eeeeeviiiil, I meet another one who seems perfectly normal, unassuming and pleasant. So I conclude that to be normal, unassuming and pleasant, (well-dressed, well-mannered, posessed of moderate intelligence and a grasp of irony,) must be what "Eeeeeviiiiil" means.

Things are so confusing in the Upsidedownland of NewChurch.

I had been invited to attend the inaugural Mass of the new personal parish of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in Rome. They have been given



the church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini that was built to house the Archconfraternity of Pilgrims and Convalescents, a charitable institution founded by St Philip Neri in 1548 to care for the poor and the sick, especially for poor pilgrims. I had to laugh when I saw Philip all over this church, in the paintings and statuary. Out of one into the next...

I have learned something about having a personal devotion to a particular saint. You don't pick them; they pick you. Then they follow you around bugging you for the rest of your natural life. A friend mentioned this weekend, though, that he had observed that Philip seems to have been made the unofficial patron of the Restoration. My young friend is also a Restorationist and is a Philip person too and he noted that nearly all the young Restorationists he meets in Rome have been claimed by Philip as well. An interesting point to keep watching.


On Saturday, things took a lot of setting up in preparation for the big event on Sunday morning. The altar at Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini before sprucing.


This is how I know there are going to be lots of pics better than mine at the New Liturgical Movement blog.

The dome. (Sorry about the fuzzy. The fresco at the very very top is of God the Father. I commented that it makes heaven look even further away than the sky.

Adjusting the giant candlesticks to make room for the relics.

This gives an idea of the scale of the altarpiece.


The altarpiece, depicting the Holy Trinity, is by Guido Reni and was painted in 1625.


The relics are stored in the big cupboard above the door in the sacristy. Well, they were. Now they're back on the altar where they belong. The sacristy is about the size of the hovel/parish in the village. The relics are of St. Augustine, St. Charles Borromeo...and, err....can't remember the other two.


Translating the relics under Philip's watchful eye.


Inspection.




This very famous painting of the miraculous Mass of St. Gregory, hangs in the sacristy. I had assumed it was a copy and the original was hanging somewhere very important. Perhaps a museum.

I have yet to learn about Rome.


Philip presenting the poor pilgrims of Rome to a young Roman nobleman. He has a kind of way with people. You find yourself doing unexpected things when he has you on his list.


Translating.




Adjusting.

The end result will be amply depicted elsewhere.

The inaugural Mass of the new personal parish of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in Rome was a treat and was a big enough event that it made the Rome papers as well as the Times in London. And I see that neither the Times nor Reuters could let a chance to use the "back-to-the-congregation" slag go by. I suppose this means that Trads are now the latest fashion.

The choir was very good. The church was packed to the rafters with people sitting on the edges of the bases of pillars, standing in the aisles and in the back. I hope the bishop who attended was impressed. I certainly was.

The really good news came later in the day. After the hoopla had died down, and the Roman princesses, reporters, Traditionalist movers and shakers and bishops had gone home, the ordinary parish life at Trinita began promptly. I was told that there were plenty of people there for the 6:30 daily low Mass and I know that the queue for the sacrament of confession didn't stop until well after 7 pm.

I didn't take any pics of the Mass, being more interested in assisting than reporting, Mr. Tribe was there and was taking pics for at least three other people, so I'm sure it won't be long before there is a lot of this on the net in various places. I can see that the pics aren't up yet at NLM, but I learned this weekend that Mr. Tribe is a real grown-up with a normal job, wife and two kids, so I'm sure he has more important things to do. We await eagerly what I am sure will be much nicer pics than anything I might have taken.

But there is a good link here to some pics which are much better than mine.


Trinita before the ironing board people's altar was removed.

...and what it looks like when it has been restored to its former condition