Pastors, bring back the painted candles...

The episcopal tomb...

It's nice to bury the ordinary, titular or cardinal protector inside his cathedral. This photo was taken in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo.

Easter flowers to cheer up your day...

April wild flowers from the seashore near Rome...

Catholic culture: the Latin sign...

PONTIFICIUM COLLEGIUM RUSSICUM SANCTAE THERESIAE A IESU INFANTE.

The new ticket look: finalmente...

You have all been to Rome and seen the former seventies-like tickets for papal events: brown, yellow, plain, sad.

Well, the winter is over and here's the new look! Hats off to Archbishop Harvey, Mons. Marini and the Salesian printing office. Thanks, guys!

The Good Old Days: La Cappella Papale...

"It's the good old days that we mancare."

Catholic life: costumes for kids...

Isn't she sweet?! This cute little girl was so proud, and so were her parents. It was her job to represent Veronica during the famous Good Friday procession in the port of Rome, Civitavecchia. She was so solemn and did a great job! Don't ever think that Catholic culture has yet been vanquished from the European continent.

Catholic culture: how to write an Easter greeting in Latin...

"EGO SVM RESVRRECTIO ET VITA".

Ioann XI, 25

PROFVNDAM•IMMERSIONEM
IN• MYSTERIVM• CARITATIS•DIVINAE•VICTRICIS
SUPER•MORTEM• PER•RESURRECTIONEM

TIBI• TUISQVE•PRECIBVS• EXOPTAT
ET•SALVTAT

RVDOLPHVS

PASCHA•ANNO•DOMINI•MMIX

Catholic culture: how to write an Easter greeting in Latin...

Sollemnes dies paschales ut sint beatae, iucundae, felices, Raphaela Ioanni optimo exoptat!
Vale in Domino, amice.



"A gentleman need not know Latin, but he should at least have forgotten it."
- Brander Matthews

Happy Easter a.D. 2009!

“Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluja!”

Good Friday Procession in the port of Rome Civitavecchia

April 10, 2009: This is a glimpse of the famed annual Good Friday "Processione del Cristo Morto" (Procession of the Dead Christ) which is held each year in the port of Rome, Civitavecchia. The procession is hosted by the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone and is led by the Bishop of Civitavecchia-Tarquinia. In traditional form the penitents wear hoods over their faces to maintain their anonymity. The marching band plays "Lacrime."

In Tribute: the Sacristiae Praefectus...

To be a sacristan is often a thankless job.

However, hats off to this guy who does nice work and always goes the extra mile.

Meet Giancarlo of the Holy Roman Church, the famous Roman sacristan of the FSSP in URBE. And he even survived the Rome Quake of '09!

Sei bravo, capo!

A very blessed Easter to one and all!

Via Crucis in Rome...

Some things are passed on father to son. This lucky kid's parents get it and hats off to them.

Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) in Rome...

This historic cross was used by St. Philip Neri and is now kept over a side altar in the Roman Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.

Devotion to the 5 Holy Wounds of DNJC...

Notice here the five holy wounds of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Instruct your kids this afternoon at 3 p.m. to have a devotion to the holy wounds and tell them, too, about the hidden shoulder wound of Christ, from the bitter weight of the cross.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shalt be. World without end. Amen.

Pray five Gloria Patri at the hour of mercy and let them see that you believe.

The Good Friday Cross: how it's done...

Rather than using pins or duct tape, this is how it's done in Rome with ribbons. The cross then sits into a stand atop the altar.

FSSP in URBE: Holy Thursday (Giovedì Santo)

Just a taste of Maundy Thursday in Rome.

Holy Thursday in Rome (Giovedì Santo a Roma)

Hear the rattle (clapper in the usa) instead of the bell...

The Altar of Repose: how it's done in Rome...

FSSP in URBE.

Holy Thursday in Rome: the altar of repose...

Every Holy Thursday in Rome it's always a treat to make a quick visit to lots of churches after Holy Mass to see the decorated altar of repose in each open church. One of the best is this altar seen here at S. Maria dell'Orto in Trastevere.

From the Port of Rome: the Via Crucis...

A famous Good Friday Via Crucis is that held in Civitavecchia, 70 km northwest of Rome.

Fr. Reggie Foster: the update...

Tonight was a fabulous dinner party in Trastevere and you just never know who you might meet while in the Holy City.

Yours truly found himself in good company while enjoying drinks and fine conversation with friends and doctors from Fattebenefratelli. Before long the conversation turned to Latin and the world's greatest living latinist, Fr. Reggie Foster (a.k.a. Regg-Dogg Knight as the wrap song goes)!

Then came the surprising moment when the one doctor exclaimed that he is Fr. Reggie Foster's M.D. from the I.C.U. on Tiber Island and that he's an atheist and that he belives that Fr. Reggie's life having been saved was miraculous, all things considered.

Then it turned out that the doctor and I had met before, last January, and so I invited him to the Rome FSSP Triduum celebrations and he said that he will gladly come.

And the Reggie update?

He said that Reggie is a miracle case, that he's doing much better and that soon they will decide if he will be moved to a temporary rest home to continue his long road to recovery. He also said that Reggie is being served beer in the hospital.

The Vatican Council: on abortion...

The one or two living people who have taken the time to read (all of) Vatican Council II can tell you that at more than one point does the Council warn of such ills as abortion, euthanasia, contraception, terrorism, etc. and Humanae Vitae is in large part just a review:

"Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator."

-Vatican Council II: Gaudium et Spes, 27.

Rome pro-life posters and vandalism by the left...

Make no mistake: this battle is spiritual.

Know what Satan demands: human sacrifice.

Know how to stop it: pray and fast and vote pro-life.

Consecrated Virgins: the Spouse of Christ...

"Especially you, consecrated virgins, in a world where egoism and the search for pleasure would become law, be the guardians of purity, unselfishness, and piety. Jesus, who has given to conjugal love all its plentitudes, has also exalted the renouncement of human love when this is for the sake of divine love and for the service of all."

-Closing Messages of the Council, 1965.

American babies of Rome graduate students...

These cute kids live in Italy while their parents of great courage study the sacred sciences in Rome: dogmatic theology, scripture, philosopohy, etc.

Welcome to Rome as a graduate student during this historic German pontificate and study canon law, theology, philosophy, communications, bioethics, etc.

Vatican Museums: spring flowers...

Photo taken yesterday to bring joy to all.

This photo is dedicated to Deb et al.

Latin from the Rome school...

Such a blessing to walk into school each morning reading these holy words atop the main entrance.

Una squadra d'eroi: witness to the nations...

The holy presbyterate is the world's greatest fraternity. No priest needs an introduction to another priest. A gift and mystery, it is a life of great joy where one is kept very busy doing the Lord's work.

Rome scenes to cheer up your day...

Rome view: the arch...

The Romans invented the arch.

Rome student life: the books read...

If you want to understand Islam, consider reading the Summa Contra Gentiles.

Rome Quake of '09...

Somebody wrote to ask if yours truly died in the quake today. No, but thanks for asking.

However, everybody in Rome felt the trembling at night and it even woke up all my clients at around 3:30 a.m., as they shared on the morning tour.

Two Rome books to know...

If you have an interest, parts of these two might be good for you. Fantastic reading by the sea on the long summer days.

A fun Rome store for kids cloths...

I Vippini
Abbigliamento per Bambini
Via Fontanella di Borghese, 65

It's like a store from sixty years ago with lovely seasonal dresses for babies and little girls all made in Italy.

Best place in Rome for fish...

Hosteria del Pesce
Via di Monserrato, 32
Just down the street from the Venerable English College
www.hosteriadelpesce.net

Rome student lunch: cheap and quick...

FYI: Rossosapore, a franchising pizzeria, is seen all over now, but they have a "drive-thru" at Torre Argentina and it's cheap and fabulous food.

Rome Catering Services for ordinations or weddings...

Elle Kappa: www.ellekappa.com

XXIV World Youth Day in Rome today...

A big reason why I am still a Catholic today was because of my mum signing me up for the World Youth Day 1993 in Denver. It changed my life.

Friday night I saw Cardinal Stafford in his fedora on the Via Giulia and I wanted to thank him for that great event which helped to mold me into the Catholic man I am today.

If you want your kids to stay Catholic, get them to a WYD which can help, in part. Plan early and get your kids to the Madrid WYD in 2011 (plan early!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Youth_Day_2011 and

http://www.jmj2011madrid.com/.

Palm Sunday in Rome...

Italians really know how to braid palms. Such artistry seen in Catholic countries!

Warriors for the cause: arise...

What monastic tonsure looks like as seen today...

French Catholics in Rome.

ROMANITAS soccer t-shirt...

Somebody should make this into a Catholic t-shirt with the added words: SVMMORVM PONTIFICVM 07.07.07.

Lost Rome: the old papal gardens of the Quirinale Palace...

A rare look as photos of these old papal gardens just don't exist and the gardens are closed to the public. These gardens are surprisingly extensive and are attached to the old papal summer palace on the Quirinale Hill.

One of the best things I ever did while in Rome was the two times in my life I got into the palace and gardens with rare VIP tours. In the palace we saw the truly magnificent chapel where Pius IX was elected Pope (the ceiling is tremendous!) as well as the old throne room which in recent years had the throne and its backdrop torn out (sometime after the war).

See a map of Rome and you'll have an idea of how large the gardens are. While in the gardens I had but one thought: such a pity this was stolen from the Popes in 1870!

While there one can even feel a breeze, as on the top of the Palatine or Vatican Hills, coming from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The view of Rome and St. Peter's from the Quirinale Palace is out of this world. The loss of the palace and its gardens was a major loss for the Church and Her Popes.

What the Epistolarium and Evangeliarium look like...

Super rare today, these are treasures of great value and a must for any parish with Sung Mass in the Usus Antiquior.

Of all that can be said of the liturgical renewal of the sixties, it was a titanic loss when (they) did away with the the sung Epistle and sung Gospel at High Mass.

This proved to be a major wound to our Western liturgy (spirituality).

Catholic student life in Rome: a glimpse...

Evan got a great flat with this fabulous view of the Vatican City. Then somebody gifted him with one-hundred Tuscan cigars so this is how we now spend our Sunday afternoons after the Papal Angelus!

The glorious cappello romano...

"Elegante."

Pius XII: voice of peace...

Go back to the source documents and see who was calling for peace and no war in 1939, etc.

Free Latin prayer booklets available in Rome...

This pastor gets it and is teaching his faithful the prayes of the Church in their own vernacular and in the Church's Latin.

Get your free copy at Rome's Basilica of Sts. Ambrose and Charles on the Via del Corso.

Battle of Lepanto...

In Rome's Villa Borghese park can be seen this statue of Marc Antonio Colonna.

He is buried underneath the floor of the Roman Basilica of the Ss. Apostoli next to the Palazzo Colonna.

Join the Facebook Lepanto page:
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=2324683342&view=user#/group.php?gid=2324683342

St. Vincent Pallotti: incorrupt in Rome...

San Salvatore in Onda at the Ponte Sisto.

Via Crucis in Rome with Litany of the Saints

Tonight in Rome: hope you like it!

Relics of Pius X...

From S. Teresa on Rome's Corso d'Italia, a lovely "modern" church.