Vestments seen only in Rome...

From the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major...

Vestments seen only in Rome...

From the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major...

First Holy Mass of Pius XII...

Fr. Eugenio Pacelli was ordained a priest in 1899. The next day he celebrated Mass here in the Borghese Chapel of the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Our rich liturgical heritage...

Some things, of great value, must be safeguarded. Rites are an inheritance destined for and entrusted to us. We are the trustees of this gift and so let's preserve, maintain and promote our liturgical heritage.

The Pope's secretary: meet Msgr. Gänswein...

Here's me and a friend in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican with the one the Italian press calls "Il Bello" (il segretario particolare di Papa Benedetto)...

It wa a hilarious moment. When asked for a photo his polite reply was: "Brevemente" (briefly), which is the one word he has to use the most as everybody wants to spend time with the Pope while he has to politely insist "briefly."

Rome: to live under the shadow of the dome...

This morning, in the Lateran Archbasilica, I met an American woman from Brooklyn - 85 years old - who came to Rome as a pilgrim. This made me proud. And she even met Cardinal Pacelli when she was a teenager during his historic visit to the New World in 1936.

Then, during riposo, I enjoyed a nice cigar while strolling through Castel Gandolfo, in the Castelli. I took some photos of the bomb damage of the property of the papal palace from World War II. From what I saw, it was two-fire alarm damage (I'll soon post the photos).

Then it was off to the parish of Sant'Eusebio all'Esquilino, near Roma Termini. Daniel Cardinal Di Nardo took possession of this as his titular church in Rome today. It was a delight to chat with him as he arrived. I found him to be a delight - with a smile and a warm word for everyone. Needless to say, the Italians were delighted to have an Italian-American in their midst!

From 1958-2004 this had been the titular church of Franz Card. König (imagine being a cardinal for as long as he was!). As far as I know, this was the first time a cardinal has taken posession of this particular church since early 1959. Anyways, it was a lovely evening.

May God be praised!

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

Nowadays they sure don't make 'em the way they used to. Imagine flying down the Via Appia full throttle in this "Made in Italy" flying fortress...

Guess what the two vertical brass rods are for (answer follows in the comments)?

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

Milanese design...

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

In the Vatican Museums one can see old autos from the papal motor fleet. This section of the museum is only open in the morning, on some days.

1929 was a special year for the Vatican. With the Lateran Treaty, there was a great exchange of gifts. Citroën, along with Mercedes-Benz and Graham Paige saw a public relations moment: they each gifted the Pope with a new automobile.

Since 1870 the Popes did not leave the Vatican. Now they could. So it was only proper that the Pope was given the most modern and speedy automobiles in the industry.

Citroën Italiana, 1929

Lictoria Sex, 6 cylinder

Made in Milan

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

Never before seen.

At his right, the Pope was able to control the movements of the automobile at his will from his chair.

Avanti (forward) or Indietro (back) or Adagio (slow) or Forte (fast) or Destra (right) or Sinistra (left) or Ferma (stop) or Vaticano (home).

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

The Pope could meditate on this image of Saint Christopher, directly in front of him.

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

The Pope, if he wished, could rest his feet on these cushions. With six powerful cylinders this auto could roar through the Vatican gardens or to Castel Gandolfo, etc.

1929 Citroën of Pius XI and Pius XII...

Italians always understood style. Baroque was their answer. See it for yourselves in the Vatican Museums.

World War II in Rome: Sir D'Arcy Osborne...

Pilgrims/tourists sometimes ask: "What do we do in Rome during riposo (siesta) while everything is closed?"

My reply follows: "Spend an afternoon in the Catholic cemetery at San Lorenzo (Policlinico metro stop) and then another afternoon at the Protestant cemetery at the giant pyramid (Piramide metro stop). You won't regret it."

A few days ago I spent a sunny, lazy afternoon in the Protestant cemetery. That's where I took this photo. Sir D'Arcy Osborne hid in the Vatican during the war and has an amazing story.

Christian Brothers: to be clothed in the habit...

In Rome it's always nice to "habit watch." Here we see the habit of the Christian Brothers. All Catholics should know that the religious habit is a holy garment. It is an article of clothing which has been blessed and each piece of it has a symbolism and a history - each to be known and talked about.

It was nice to chat with this professed brother. He's from Puglia. In the Rome of today one meets many Italian clergy from Puglia, where the Faith still thrives strong amid countryside families.

Christian Brothers taught both my grandfathers in high school from 1925-1929 and 1934-1938).

Rome as seen by the Knights of Malta...

From the Aventine hill there is a nice park with a spectacular view of Rome which everyone should see. Then just down the street, from the private gardens of the Knights of Malta, there is the same view. This is the Roman skline as seen by the knights as they exit their Rome chapel on the Aventine.

On the horizon is the Vatican Basilica. In the foreground, down the hill, is the Tiber River. Notice the current restoration of the palace along the river: on the left we see the beauty of the new skim coat while on the right we see the drab old ocher (ugly ore of iron).

Knights of Malta in Rome...

This is the main entrance to the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta in Rome on the Aventine hill.

See their site here: http://www.orderofmalta.org/index.asp?idlingua=

Knights of Malta in Rome...

Sanctissima Virgo de Phileremo Melitensem Ordinem Tuere.

Knights of Malta in Rome...

To go where no tourist has ever gone...this is the main entrance of the Knights of Malta chapel on the Aventine hill (closed to the public).

Rome Requiem Mass for Fra'Andrew Bertie...

Photos were not allowed, so I got yelled at for this one. But anyways, here you get a glimpse of the Knights of Malta chapel and the lying in state of their Prince and Grand Master.

The altar in the chapel is one of my most favorite in all of Rome. It's all white marble, dusty, but very nice. The view of Rome from outside the chapel is stunning.

It was a joy to flip through the pages of the two condolence books in the rear of the chapel. Lots of ambassadors, cardinals and nobles, etc. Alessandra Borghese, a faithful Catholic, was there too, as one sees here at all these church events.

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in Rome...

In Rome some legends still live - even today. The joy is in meeting them and seeing their holiness.

Meet Mons. Giacomo Orlandi. He was born in 1922 in a little village near Rome, Roiate. It's a town that St. Benedict even once visited.

Mons. Orlandi has seen alot. He was ordained a priest in 1945. He still remembers when the Nazis took over his seminary in Subiaco to use as a hospital for their wounded. He went on to be a celebrated canon lawyer, worked in the Vatican and was a pastor in Rome. Then, he came to know the future Pope John Paul II.

In 1959 he was nominated a Beneficiato del Capitolo Lateranese and then a Cameriere d'onore di Sua Santita' the same year. Later, in 1983, was named a Prelato d'onore.

He was secretary of Cardinal Bracci, whose titular church in Rome was San Cesareo in Palatio, situated on the Via di Porta San Sebastiano (Circo Massimo metro stop). This church had been abandoned and was in rough shape. Mons. Orlandi renovated the property and revived the parish. Today, it remains a thriving parish church with one Sunday Mass and many weddings often celebrated there.

On June 26, 1967, the new Polish Cardinal, Karol Wojtyla, was gifted by the Pope with this as his titular church in Urbe. In February of 1968 he took possession of it with great solemnity (the photos are fantastic). Today, San Cesareo is the titular parish of another Pole, Cardinal Deskur. Mons. Orlandi, ever the humble parish priest, remains the rector.

Mons. Orlandi always kept in contact with Pope John Paul II and they saw each other several times between 1978 and 2005. Mons. has many lovely photographs, letters and telegrams from the Cardinal who became Pope. It is a treat to chat with him, to hear all the old stories and even to see his immitation of how Cardinal Wojtyla reacted when he was first shown his new cardinalatial coat-of-arms on the facade.

A special moment, for me, was when Mons. gifted me with an autographed copy of the same little book in which he gifted Cardinal Wojtyla with, which he published in 1965 (entitled San Cesareo in Palatio by Pietro Tomassi).

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in Rome...

Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, future Pope John Paul II, was created a cardinal in 1967 del Titolo di S. Cesareo in Palatio. Diaconia elevata pro hac vice a Titolo Presbiterale. This is the sacristy of that same parish, San Cesareo. Not much has changed.

Just last year, after over forty years, there was a Tridentine rite Mass celebrated here for All Souls Day, thanks to the Society of St. John.

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in Rome...

This oil on canvas portrait of Karol Card. Wojtyla used to be in the rear of the church, near to the main entrance. After he passed away it was placed in the sacristy.

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in Rome...

Here we can see on our right in the photo Mons. Giacomo Orlandi, who is still rector of this same parish, San Cesareo in Palatio. All hail the hallowed cappa magna!

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in Rome...

Another photo from the sacristy of San Cesareo in Palatio...

Where to study in Rome...

If it's your call to study moral theology in Rome, then this might be the place for you: la Accademia Alfonsiana.

See their site here: http://www.alfonsiana.edu/english.htm .

Where to study in Rome...

If you feel called to study spiritual theology in Rome, then this might be the place for you: il Pontificio Istituto di Spiritualita' located next to the lovely Villa Doria Pamphili gardens.

Pontifical Institute of Spirituality: http://www.teresianum.org/italiano/index.htm .

This is also where the world's most famous latinist lives, Fr. Reggie Foster.

Pius XII: defender of Jews...

Bigots, fools and "useful idiots" (in the words of Vladimir I. Lenin) bash Pope Pius XII.

Here's a letter which was from his Secretary of State dated 1942 - when the outlook of the war was still bleak.

This document was sent to the Ditta Annibale Gammarelli (his private tailor and tailors to the Pontifical Household since 1798). They are a Roman-Jewish family with their store near the Pantheon.

In the letter the Gammarelli firm is gifted with the title "Papal Suppliers" with the permission of displaying his coat-of-arms (i.e. as one can see in the UK with the "By Appointment to Her Majesty...Suppliers of, etc.").

Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Vatican polyglot press...

Yesterday, by God's grace, I got a great tour of the Vatican's polyglot press.

I went to the palace in the Vatican City of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana just to buy a calendar for the new year. Then, the director himself brought me downstairs and showed me the rooms with the big printing machines.

There were lots of workers, all busy with diligence (wow, imagine that - Vatican employees actually doing something instead of just pretending to work!).

The press is run by the Salesians, as he explained. He also showed me the largest and most lovely statue of Our Lady that I have ever seen. It was in one of the stairwells, from Pius IX.

Tailor to the Popes: can be your tailor, too...

If you are a seminarian or priest then surely you must have at least one really quality soutane.

Ten years ago this year I ordered my first cassock from here and it has served me well - it's the finest quality in the world.

So the next time you find yourself in Rome get measured here in the famous back room of the Roman tailor, Signor Gammarelli.

Ditta Annibale Gammarelli

Via Santa Chiara, 34

00186 Roma

Located just behind the Pantheon and in front of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, in the palace of the Accademia.

Papal portrait: the mantle over the fireplace...

As a freshman in high school I started collecting Catholic items found in antique shops. I did this for two reasons: many of these items are blessed and many end up in the wrong hands. It's a great hobby and I encourage other young Catholics to do the same.

In the mid-1990s I got this treasure from an antique shop back home. It looks great over the fireplace, doesn't it?

Such a portrait would look great in a rectory, episcopal mansion or cardinal's palace. In the old days such a portrait was found in the home of every cardinal, with a chair facing it. The idea was that when the Pope would visit, the chair would then be turned around and used as a portable throne for the Pontiff.

It's the good old days that many of us mancare...

From Rome: happy St. Valentine's Day...

This gives another meaning to "vintage Valentino."

If you visit the parish in Rome of Santa Maria in Cosmedin you can see its campanile romanico as well as this relic of the skull of St. Valentine.

Great for a first date, Romeo.

Nazi occupation of Rome...

Divine Providence led me today to the tomb of the man who was the Chief Rabbi of Rome during World War II. With a prayer and some luck (grace), I found his grave in Rome's Campo Verano cemetery.

Read a bit about his conversion story here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Zolli

JFK: Catholic and a war hero...

Here's yours truly last month in front of the London home of Ambassador Kennedy (on Prince's Gate, near the London Oratory).

When I visit London, I visit here. It's a lovely manse with a big ballroom upstairs and a lovely staircase and grand room, etc.

Everybody thinks they know Jack Kennedy. The press is saying that Barack Obama is "just like him."

Does everyone know that "Barack Obama" is a Muslim name? Has everyone seen the photos of his grandmother of 86 years along with the whole Muslim family cheering for his victory in Kenya?

If you want to know President Kennedy, then read this book by his two best friends and fellow Catholics entitled: "Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye" by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy.

HMS Belfast: 11,000 tons of WWII fury...

Morred on the Thames in London is this naval time capsule - a warship from the "last great war."

History is prelude. All of us grew up hearing the old war stories. Valour, courage, sacrifice, service and honour, etc. Sadly, though, like grandma always said: "The devil never rests."

We all know what happened on September 11, 2001. Does everyone know what happened on September 11, 1683?

"Vienna, as we saw, was almost taken and only saved by the Christian army under the command of the King of Poland on a date that ought to be among the most famous in history - September 11, 1683."

The Great Heresies by Hilaire Belloc, 1938, page 71.

Pius XII and his encyclical to Americans...

Here we see, in the Vatican Museums, the 1929 Graham Paige (made in America) from the papal motor fleet of Pius XI. This is the same automobile in which Pius XII raced across Rome in on July 14, 1943 to reach the bombed population of the university zone of San Lorenzo.

Read this dynamite encyclical here:

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12SERTU.HTM

Nazis in Rome: Gestapo prison...

This is the dreaded Gestapo prison/house of torture on the Via Tasso.

With the 1983 made for television film, The Scarlet and the Black, many Americans visit Rome with thoughts of the 270-day Nazi occupation of Rome. The Nazi regime lasted twelve years and for nine months they had Rome.

Meanwhile, "the past is never dead, it's not even past." The abortion industry thrives today and people get angry when you question such evil...

Torre Chiaruccia in Santa Marinella near Rome...

This is the site where radar was invented in the 1930s ( in a resort town called Santa Marinella, near Rome).

On February 1, 1944, the Nazis rigged the almost five-hundred year old tower that was here and blew it up (the radio antenna that you see in the photo was construced on top of the old tower).

The Nazis blew up many landmarks along the coast (even in Ostia and Ladispoli, too), so that daylight precision bombers could not find their way.

I walked here today from the port of Rome, Civitavecchia. See this site for more information:
http://www.qsl.net/ik0xcc/marconi/gm_chiaruccia2.htm

Take your yacht to Rome...

When the "rich and famous" visit Rome it's often on a yacht - a floating five star hotel of peace, quiet and anonymity.

This is where they arrive, at the Port of Rome, in Civitavecchia (there's a port in Fiumicino, too, but it's not as popular).

Riva di Traiano (Trajan's Shore) is where many of the Romani keep their boats, too.

Roman Major Seminary...

Like they always say: "It pays to have connections." Many thanks to my friend, Borna, who kindly invited me to visit the "Pope's Seminary" in Rome!

A lovely property, it's a giant nursery (fosterage) for future Vatican high-flyers called the Pontificio Seminario Romano Maggiore.

Every year, on the last Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the seminary celebrates their big day, the Solennita' di Maria Santissima Madre della Fiducia.

It was a lovely celebration with all the brass from the Vatican (alumni) and others. Mass was sung by His Eminence the Cardinal Vicar of Rome. The processional hymn was Salve, Sancta Parens (Sedulio, sec. X).

The motto of the seminary: Mater Mea, Fiducia Mea!

Be consoled and know that we have holy seminarians to be holy priests for the future...

Roman Major Seminary...

This is the main chapel of the Roman Major Seminary. Enshrined here is the original, albeit very small, famous and miraculous icon of Our Lady of Trust (Maria Santissima Madre della Fiducia).

The seminary building complex and chapel were built under the reign of Pope St. Pius X (with a newer chapel and dormatory built under the reign of Pope Paul VI).

Generations of seminarians have prayed daily before this altar. It's a lovely chapel with no pews and so everybody kneels in prayer. By divine providence, it was spared any postconciliar renovation and has great frescos.

Roman Major Seminary...

We can all be proud of these seminarians. These are the guys born in and around Rome. These days, though, most of the vocations are coming from Puglia, in the South of Italy.

You can tell a lot about a seminarian by how he genuflects. Each of these guys appeared to have great reverence toward the Blessed Sacrament.

Roman Major Seminary...

This is the Pope's Cardinal Vicar of Rome. He's a nice guy, always smiling. God bless and protect him...

Roman Major Seminary...

Many holy men have studied at the Roman Major Seminary. One such was Blessed John XXIII.

Roman Major Seminary...

Here is a relic of St. Robert Bellermine. He was the founder of the Roman Major Seminary and so the seminarians and faculty share a special devotion to him.

Roman Major Seminary...

In the library there was this nice reliquary of items which belonged to St. Charles Borromeo.

Palace of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome...

Under the reign of Pope Leo XIII this palace was constructed at the Lateran for the Pope's Cardinal Viar of Rome and his staff. He lives and works here on the upper level above the carriage atrium.

St. Blaise Day in Rome...

It's always nice to be in Rome on St. Blaise Day. The night before there's always a nice procession in the Vatican Basilica with the canons for Candlemas Day.

Then on St. Blaise Day it's always nice to visit the parish of San Biaggio (Saint Blaise) on the Via Giulia. This church is an Armenian rite parish in downtown Rome (with Latin rite liturgies, too).

Anways, on this day there is always an Armenian rite cleric in the rear of the church who will bless your throat with blessed oil. It's really a nice ritual an then you take a piece of blessed bread and eat it.

From Rome: Latin lives...

Nice to see someone took the effort to have this little sign made in memory of the renovation/restoration of their building in Rome. Let's do the same...

Your gift: the pro-life vote...

It's another great day in Catholic Italy. Drizzle with a breeze. My roommate is in Austria and I've got the place to myself: got the grill going on the balcony with some spuntature (cheap beef cuts) along with some costata s/o Irlandese (niiice chop from Ireland). Along with real Catholic beer (Stella Artois from Louvain).

Meanwhile, all the news is about this election year. All Christians are asked to vote pro-life. The Republican National Convention this coming summer will be held in Saint Paul in Minnesota (http://gopconvention2008.com/). Hope to see you all there!

Winter fun near Vatican for families...

It's fun to watch the kids skate here. The best on the ice are the kids from Ukraine/Russia.

Juventutem: all youth to the land down under...

See their new site:

http://juventutem.org/pages/en/home.php