Happy Halloween from Rome...

Happy Halloween from Rome...

Happy Halloween from Rome...

The best Halloween I ever spent was at the Drake Hotel in Chicago for drinks after a walk down Michigan Avenue.

Anyways, if you're in Rome today and miss all the pumpkin action from back home, just take a stroll through the Campo de Fiori and you'll see it all...

New consistory: fanfare and gala rally...

Smiling I just had to take this photo 'cause I just love the toys...

Anyways, there will be great hoopla in Rome this November with the creation of some new cardinals.

Most of them will visit here to get their new garments. Gammarelli: tailor to the stars! Visit them on the Via Santa Chiara in Rome...

The one who outfoxed modernism...

Growing up I heard the clergy at my parish hailing this great prelate, Joseph Cardinal Siri of the See of Genova. He outfoxed the modernists of our era and did a lot of good and is now missed very much by everybody. This book is packed with great photos and stories so look for it on the internet!

Summorum Pontificum: the Rome update...

Meteorologists be advised: the Italians are busy printing old missals again!

Beckoned by the new demand, San Paolo has just published this nice little missal for the Italian peninsula.

The F.S.S.P. in Rome now have a pile of these for the faithful to use at their Rome chapel (http://www.fssp-roma.org/). Meanwhile, many thanks to San Paolo (http://www.edizionisanpaolo.it/)!

From farmlands of Lazio...

I took this photo at Castel Gandolfo. Instead of a stiff drink of Scotch or Bourbon while at this waterfront ristorante, I opted for this cool milk only because I so liked the carton: Ville Pontificie (Pontifical estates/mansions)...

Pontificalia: made in Italy...

It was my own mother who first instructed me that: "Nothing was to be spared in lavishness and magnificence in the decorating of our churches and sacred ministers." If you are a parent, then teach the same to your kids.

Vincenzo Serpone makes great stuff in Naples (see: http://www.serpone.it/). Visit them in Rome, too, on the Via del Mascherino, 33, near the Vatican.

Redux: a bringing back...

An old liberal might grimace, but when there's a dollar to be made... Actually, the Italians have done a great job these past few months in printing great handmissals of the 1962 Missale (this one is by Fede & Cultura while another is by Paoline). Like they always say: al futuro...

L'impero continua: the return of Rome's altar cards..

The empire strikes back, friends! I just took this photo at Rome's San Vitale. Funny that I didn't see these cards on this same altar last year?

Now and then when one visits an antique shop in Rome one might see altar cards. Sadly, though, more often than not the prayers have been torn out and the frames have instead been used for mirrors.

Roma Urbs Mundi: Via Nazionale...

"To describe the emotions of the mind and the crowd of ideas that arise on entering this 'mistress of the world' is impossible. All is confusion and agitation. The eye moves rapidly from side to side, eager to grasp every object, but continually diverted by s ome new scene; all is wonder."

-Washington Irving (arrived in Rome in 1805)

Rome: la citta' degli imperatori...

The Caesars are all dead, but I just love some of these old holdouts from the old days! With trepidation one crosses the street while this guy, intanto, owns it all!

Debemus levare linguam latinam...

Like my pa used to tell us kids: "Just remember one thing everybody: Deus latine dicit. Lingua Sanctae Matris Ecclesiae est!"

Anyways, if you study at a Pontifical University in Rome, you might still sometimes see some of the matriculation forms still in Latin...

Study in Rome...

If you're a high school kid and thinking about what college to attend...then consider studying for five years in Rome!

You can study in English at the Dominican University (a.k.a. the Angelicum) for a quinquennium (a five year period) of study.

Study philosophy for two years for the Philosophiae Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Philo.) and then theology for three years for the Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Sacred Theology).

Just get a bene exeat letter from your bishop and a ticket to Rome...

Il vero tesoro del continente e' la fede...

Niki, my Italian friend asked me to post this event and to invite everyone to it: www.ladivinacommediaopera.it .

I'm always proud when I see nice cultural events in Rome - makes me think of this quote from Blessed Pius IX:

"Benedite O Gran Dio l'Italia e concedetele il dono prezioso della fede."

Pontificium Institutum Joannes Paulus II...

Is it your vocation to study here in Rome as a layman? In this building is located the Pontificio Istituto Giovanni Paolo II Per Studi Su Matrimonio E Famiglia (the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies in Marriage and Family).

Here they study the fruitfullness of love as the foundation of morality. They seek to overcome rationalism (which excludes love from the moral dynamism) and emotivism (which precludes love from any rational comprehension). See: www.istitutogp2.it .

Summorum Pontificum: the Rome update...

Everybody has been asking for the liturgical update from Rome and so here's the scoop: all is upbound!

The F.S.S.P. continue with their Rome chapel of San Gregorio dei Muratori. This chapel is the only location in all of Rome where one can attend a Solemn High Mass sung in the Tridentine rite every Sunday (http://www.fssp-roma.org/).

Meanwhile, there is now a daily Tridentine rite Mass celebrated each morning at eight o'clock at the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The Mass is celebrated by a canon of the Basilica.

At the same time, in recent months, flashy new Tridentine rite missals have been printed in Italy for the use of the lay faithful. These are available in soft as well as hardcover in some of the shops along the Via della Conciliazione.

In addition, it can now be seen that some altars in Rome are again being dressed with altar cards, an indication that more private Masses are being celebrated in the Old Rite in public view.

Natus ad gloriam: meet my new niece...!

Yesterday was spent at Ostia Antica with all the high school kids from Northern Europe (and the bees which are really bad there this time of year!). Then we all went off to Ostia for a swim...

But that wasen't all that happened! Then I got the news that I have a new baby niece! My uncounted riches have been my nieces and nephews and they have made me a rich man. I'm so proud to announce to everybody the newest of them all...

Il belpaese: for my nieces and nephews...

Uncle goes fishing off the coast of Rome and this is what he eats:

(a.) Polipo (octopus) which the smaller ones I cook into pasta or with the larger ones I put into salad.

(b.) Scorfano (sea scorpion) fish which I cook into soup.

(c.) Ricci di mare (sea urchin) the inside of which I put on bread or cook into rice.

Latine dictum (spoken Latin)...

Just yesterday I got a nice tour of the Pontifical Salesian Univeristy in Rome. The campus is really modern, but it was a really nice visit.

If you feel called to study classical languages in Rome (Greek and Latin), then study here: http://www.ups.urbe.it/ . You can graduate in three years with a baccalaureate or two more years with a licentiate or even a doctorate in classical languages.

Bagnasco: Fidei Defensor...

On my knees before the tomb of Pope St. Pius V in the Liberian Basilica I looked up and guess who was praying there, too?

His name is Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of the See of Genova. He is the president of the Italian bishops conference. This makes his voice, besides that of the Pope, the loudest pro-life and pro-family voice on the peninsula.

The (Bolshevist) media might not like him, but then that's a good sign! God reward him...and protect him.

When in Rome: as the Romans do...

When people from back home visit Rome they always ask me what to eat. My answer is simple: if you prefer, always try to taste what's regional - it's great!

In Rome just look for something "alla Romana." For example, try "trippa alla Romana" or "saltimbocca alla Romana." Meanwhile, if you want to know how to cook great Italian back home, just know the one secret: "origano!"

October 11, 1962 - 2007

Today in Italy is the liturgical feast day of Blessed John XXIII. Also, it's the anniversary of the day in which VII was opened with great solemnity in 1962.

I recommend a great book entitled The Ratzinger Report by Vittorio Messori with Joseph Card. Ratzinger (Ignatius Press). "Chapter Two: A Council To Be Rediscovered" is great...

October 11, 1962 - 2007

"I am convinced that the damage that we have incurred in these twenty years is due, not to the 'true' Council, but to the unleashing within the Church of latent polemical and centrifugal forces; and outside the Church it is due to the confrontation with a cultural revolution in the West: the success of the upper middle class, the new 'tertiary bourgeoisie', with its liberal-radical ideology of individualistic, rationalistic and hedonistic stamp."

Joseph Cardinal Ratziner in The Ratzinger Report

October 11, 1962 - 2007

Here's me in Rome pretending to be one of the fathers of the II Vatican Council! Rows of the old chairs that were custom made for the bishops of the world that were used in the Vatican Basilica during the Council are now located in the parish for Dutch pilgrims located across the street from the Vatican Basilica (Church of S. Michaele e Magno).

October 7: Lepanto...

Leonardo da Sarzana sculpted this lovely statue of Pope St. Pius V, seated and crowned with his hand raised in benediction, located in Rome above his tomb.

"St. Pius V attributed the winning of Lepanto, which decided the future of Europe, to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin."

St. Pius V by Robin Anderson

October 7: Lepanto...

This is the tomb of Pope St. Pius V as seen in the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. He used to be incorrupt, but now only the skeleton remains.

To read about his life (Chapter 5 is entitled "Lepanto: The Holy Alliance Against The Turks), then get the little book entitled St. Pius V by Robin Anderson (Tan Books and Publishers: http://www.tanbooks.com/ ) and enjoy!

October 7: Lepanto...

This is a tomb in Rome of a warrior from the battle of Lepanto. He's buried in what is now the parish for the Filipino pilgrims and residents of Rome, Santa Pudentiana, near Roma Termini. May he pray for us...

October 7: Lepanto...

"The Turkish successes began in the middle of the XI century. They ended in the XVI. Selim the Sot came to the throne of Othman and St. Pius V to the throne of the Apostle...The battle of Lepanto arrested forever the danger of Mohammedan invasion in the South of Europe - and Lepanto was won by prayer..."

-John Henry Cardinal Newman

This plaque is in the Sistine Chapel of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Anybody want to translate it for me?

October 7: Lepanto...

This bas relief is in the Sistine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Here we see Pope St. Pius V receiving the victorious standard from Mark Anthony Colonna after the battle of Lepanto.

October 7: Lepanto...

This is the ceiling of the church of the Ara Coeli in Rome (next to the Vittoriano). The ceiling is made of gold taken from the enemy fleet after the Allied victory at the battle of Lepanto.

October 7: Lepanto...

Italians are proud of their victory at the battle of Lepanto. After all, it was the greatest naval victory in history! So they even named a metro stop in Rome after it...

"The victory that followed was not won without hight cost: 7,500 Christian men perished, the greater part Venetian - but Italian history records with pride the sacrifice made by those of every region - and twelve galleys were sunk, but the Turks, as far as could be reckoned, lost 30,000 men, 8,000 were taken prisoner and all but 45 of their 270 ships sunk or captured, freeing thousands of Christian slaves."

-St. Pius V by Robin Anderson (Tan Books and Publishers).

October 7: Lepanto...

Here's a street in Rome named after the battle of Lepanto. Do an internet search and find the "Ballad of Lepanto" by G. K. Chesterton as it's a fine poem...

"A huge Mohammedan armada fought at the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth against the Christian fleet at Lepanto. The Christians won that naval action, and the Western Mediterranean was saved. But it was a very close thing, and the name of Lepanto should remain in the minds of all men with a sense of history as one of the half dozen great names in the history of the Christian world. It has been a worthy theme for the finest battle poem of our time. 'The Ballad of Lepanto,' by the late Mr. Gilbert Chesterton."

The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc (Tan Books and Publishers).

October 7: Lepanto...

When in Rome you will sometimes meet guys with the name Marcantonio. He was a great warrior of Christian civilization who was second in command of the papal galleys at the battle of Lepanto. First in command was Don Juan of Austria, who was just twenty-four years old when he led the Christian navy into battle and won.

John Paul the Great...

Many of us first saw him when he came to Denver in 1993 for the World Youth Day.

He made known to us the treasures of Catholicism within the context of a Western culture that was in the process of rejecting the very Faith responsible for its greatness.

He taught us that il mondo non è basta (the world is not enough)...

Rome's La Grand Hotel...

On your way to the bathroom of the luxurious La Grand in Rome you will see this Requiem chasuble. Too bad it's not used anymore...

In omne tempus (forever)...

Sometimes people ask me why I attend Mass in the Tridentine Rite. The answer is simple: Hoc erat in more majorum (this was in the manner of our ancestors).

Piero Marini: laudatio funebris...

The first time I ever entered the Vatican Basilica was on March 19, 1998 for the episcopal consecration of Mons. Piero Marini. Sad was I to see how common the liturgy was.

The first time I ever shared an afternoon with Cardinal Ratzinger was on March 20, 2004. He gave a lecture at the Pontfical Oriental Institute where he shared with us that he was first in the Vatican Basilica for Easter of 1962 back in the day with the splendor of the old papal liturgies.

Why did Piero Marini so get it wrong? The story in Rome is that his whole liturgical modus operandi was always just leges nullae (liturgical lawlessness). Even in Leviticus X the Lord Himself speaks to Aron the priest and says: "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common."

Mare Nostrum: the Mediterranean Sea...

Octopuses off the coast of Rome...don't join the Royal Thames Yacht Club, just enjoy your sojourning in the Eternal City!

This leprous animal spied me and tried to kill me with its black ink. My kindred back home taught me to strike quick and so with luck, despite the oscillating eight-arms, this beast didn't live another day.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

Yesterday at the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome (the Liberian Basilica) a musical rosary was prayed in the Borghese (Pauline) Chapel. The rosary was led by Fr. John Berg, F.S.S.P., Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (www.fssp.org). In attendance was His Eminence Bernard Cardinal Law, Archpriest of the Basilica as well as numerous other prelates and faithful alike. The rosary was prayed in Latin with musical meditations composed in the 17th and 18th centuries.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

The musical meditations were as follows:

Antifona Ave Maris Stella (gregoriano)

Francesco Soriano (1548-1621)Canon LXXVII a cinque Sopra l’Ave Maris Stella

PRIMO MISTEROL’ANNUNCIAZIONE A MARIA VERGINEFrancesco Maria Benedetti (1688-1746)Cantata sopra la Madonna preservata dallacolpa originale, à due, Basso e Soprano (1713)Maria io tanto t’amoPRIMA PARTE

SECONDO MISTEROLA VISITAZIONE DI MARIA VERGINEA SANTA ELISABETTAAnonimo (prima metà XVIII sec.)Quae Stellae Micantes (1719)mottetto per Basso, Viola d’amoree Basso ContinuoQuae Stellae Micantes, AriaDies luce solemnior, RecitativoEt nos ergo jubilantes, Aria

TERZO MISTEROLA NATIVITÀ DI GESÙFrancesco Maria Benedetti (1688-1746)Cantata sopra la Madonna preservata dalla colpaoriginale, à due, Basso e Soprano (1713)Maria io tanto t’amoSECONDA PARTE

QUARTO MISTEROLA PRESENTAZIONE DI GESÙAL TEMPIOHeinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)Sonata del Rosario IVLa Presentazione di Gesù al TempioCiaccona

QUINTO MISTEROIL RITROVAMENTO DI GESÙTRA I DOTTORI DEL TEMPIOPablo Bruna (1611-1679)Tiento de Secondo Tono por GsolreutSobre la letania de la Virgen

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

Fr. John Berg, F.S.S.P. who led the musical rosary seated in the sanctuary.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

Fr. Berg leads the rosary before the altar.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

Fr. Berg was elected the Superior General of the F.S.S.P. (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri) in July of 2006.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

The Archpriest of the Basilica kneels with the faithful together to pray the musical rosary under the gaze of la Salus Populi Romani (one of Rome's most beloved icons).

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

The Borghese Chapel was packed with prelates and faithful alike. It was touching to see the international audience here all raise up their voices together in their one common tongue of prayer: our Catholic Latin.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

October is the month of the holy rosary. It was fitting that the rosary was prayed in Rome on October 1st in this setting: a musical rosary prayed at St. Mary Major.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

At the conclusion of the musical rosary His Eminence shared a few words of gratitude and then pronounced his blessing.

F.S.S.P. Musical Rosary in Rome...

Fr. Berg shares a moment with a canon of the Liberian Basilica.