Several weekends ago, I headed up to Rome for the first part of a week of leave. I had been to the Eternal City a couple of times since moving to Italy, but they were both quick trips without a lot of actual touring. This time I was planning on doing some legitimate sightseeing with some of my traveling American friends, who I planned to meet up with later in the week. (My friend Jimmy was in Rome working on his PhD in art history and my friend Kari was making her first visit to Europe).
After finishing my Friday clinic, I took an easy 2 hour train from the Aversa station near base to Rome’s Termini station. From there, it was a short walk across Piazza della Republica to my hotel. I quickly checked in, dropped off my bag, and headed out to see some sights before meeting some other Navy friends for dinner. After having recently read a book about Saint Ignatius of Loyola, I really wanted to make it to the Gesù Church - the mother church of the religious order St. Ignatius founded, the Society of Jesus (aka, the Jesuits). To get there it was about a 20 minute downhill walk along Via Nazionale and a hop across Piazza Venezia. As I walked into Piazza Gesù, I turned to face the imposing facade of the church.
Immediately after passing through the front door, I was struck by the huge vastness of the church (a feeling that would be repeated many times upon entering the various churches of Rome in the coming days). Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the ceiling to behold the immense fresco covering virtually the entire ceiling. Entitled The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, the ceiling appears to open into the sky where the faithful are called to heaven. From the edges of the painting’s frame, the tangled bodies of the damned tumble toward eternal suffering. The artwork is unique in that at its periphery the painted frescos mingle with surrounding 3-D stucco bodies.
As one walks up toward the front of the church, you come upon two side chapels. The left transept contains the tomb and altarpiece of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius was born to a Spanish noble family in 1491 and spent most of his young life as a soldier. At the Battle of Pamplona in 1521, he was seriously wounded as his leg was struck and shattered by a cannonball. During a long convalescence, he underwent a spiritual conversion and devoted his life to God. (Because of his shabby health insurance plan and what HAD to be chronic osteomyelitis, he would have a limp the remainder of his life.) Ignatius was eventually ordained in 1537 and went on to form the Society of Jesus (officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1540). He spent the remainder of his life in Rome as the superior of the Jesuits (where he wrote his classic texts The Spiritual Exercises and the Jesuit Constitutions) before dying in 1556.
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| St. Ignatius Altar and Tomb |
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| St. Ignatius' Tomb |
The right transept contains the St. Francis Xavier Chapel. Francis Xavier was a close friend of Ignatius and also one of the first Jesuits. In this chapel, a silver reliquary contains part of the saint's right arm - which he reportedly used to baptize over 300,000 people. The rest of his bodily remains are interred in the Jesuit church in Goa, India.
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| St. Francis Xavier Altar and Relic |
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| St. Francis Xavier's Right Hand |
After looking around a bit, I sat down amongst the rest of the tourists in one of the center pews. For about twenty minutes, I relaxed and read my guidebook describing the church. As I sat there reading, reflecting, and praying; two men walked to the front of the pews and began addressing the crowd. One of them was clearly an American priest (Roman collar and speaking English with a Boston accent) and he began describing the history of the church and its artwork. As I sat listening to him, I began to look around at the people sitting in the pews near me. I was surprised to finally notice that I was completely surrounded by about thirty middle-aged men, who were also clearly American priests. As the priest in front continued speaking, he remarked that the next part of their tour would be the Camere of St. Ignatius. I had read about these rooms before – they were in a building just adjacent to the church and were where St. Ignatius had lived, worked, and died. I was excited at the possibility of getting to see these rooms.
As the group of priests stood up and began walking towards the church exit, I also stood and made my way next to the priest who had been speaking. I introduced myself and asked where he and the others were from. It turns out that they were part of a larger group of priests from all across America who were in Italy for a three month sabbatical. After briefly explaining who I was and what I was doing in Rome, I asked if I could join them for the remainder of their tour. I figured it couldn’t hurt at ask… after all, they were priests. (Matthew 7.7: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.) I definitely caught him off guard with my request as he hesitated a moment before asking the Jesuit Brother who would be giving the tour if I could come. Fortunately, the answer was yes and I was then introduced to the rest of the group as we walked out the doors of the Gesù Church and towards the adjacent building. In order to gain some “street cred” with my new friends, I mentioned that I had done my undergrad at Notre Dame (Congregation of the Holy Cross) followed by more than a decade at Georgetown (Jesuits). Upon hearing this, one of the priests commented, “One taught you to be a good Catholic and the other taught you to think.” While some in Northern Indiana might not entirely agree with that, I couldn’t exactly dispute his point.
Once inside, we made our way up a stairway and down a hallway of the Camere of St. Ignatius. The Jesuit Brother guiding us said that while the majority of the structure had been rebuilt after being damaged by floods, the four inner Ignatian rooms were original and had been preserved. Built between 1543-4, they were where St. Ignatius lived and worked until his death in 1556. As we climbed the staircase to these rooms, one of the priests I had been chatting with jokingly commented, “So, it’s a Friday evening and you are here with thirty middle-aged priests, did you ever think that God is trying to tell you something?” At least I think he was joking.
First we entered a corridor outside of the rooms. This corridor actually used to be the outer porch, but at some point after St. Ignatius’ death the Camere became a popular pilgrimage destination. Thus, the Jesuits had the porch enclosed and richly decorated. The scenes painted by Andrea Pozzo, a Jesuit and an artist, celebrate the life of St. Ignatius and provide some interesting illusionary effects (angles painted to appear flat, square edges as rounded).
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| St. Ignatius' Reception Room |
The next room was a small study and bedroom where St. Ignatius lived. Contained there was a desk, a chair, a copy of the original Spiritual Exercises, a pair of the saint’s sandals, and a bust of St. Ignatius (based on his death mask) that was set at his actual height. I didn’t ask, but I am not convinced that the lamp is original.
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| St. Ignatius' burial vestment |
Adjacent to the reception room was a chapel used by St. Ignatius and his fellow Jesuits. Its simplicity was in stark contrast to the neighboring Gesù Church (and it certainly reminded me of other similar chapels from my school days - specifically, Morrissey Manor’s Chapel and Georgetown’s Copley Crypt). The next thing I knew, all of the priests began filing into another back room. Not sure what I had missed (as I had been paying attention), I peered in to see that they were donning vestments in preparation for celebrating Mass in the chapel. Not wanting to intrude any more than I already was, I just hovered in the back corner of the chapel and tried to stay out of the way. However, one of the priests then came up to me and introduced himself. He, along with the others, was obviously very excited for the opportunity to celebrate Mass in this special chapel. He pressed his small digital camera into my hand and asked that I subtly take a few pictures of him during the Mass (at appropriate times, of course).
The rest of the priests then filed into the chapel and we all were seated in the wood and wicker stools alongside the walls. The subsequent Mass was one of the most memorable ones that I will experience in my lifetime. To hear all thirty-plus priests speak the liturgy of the Eucharist in synchrony in this setting was amazing. (Of course, I was already thrilled just to be hearing Mass in English…)
After the celebration ended, everyone took some additional pictures and mingled as we made our way outside of the Camere of St. Ignatius into Piazza Gesù. I really appreciated making some new friends and I thanked them for affording me a unique opportunity to experience a historic and holy place.
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| Every day at 1730, the painting above St. Ignatius' tomb is lowered by hidden pulleys to reveal the silver statue. |
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| St. Ignatius would struggle playing basketball. |
After looking around a bit, I sat down amongst the rest of the tourists in one of the center pews. For about twenty minutes, I relaxed and read my guidebook describing the church. As I sat there reading, reflecting, and praying; two men walked to the front of the pews and began addressing the crowd. One of them was clearly an American priest (Roman collar and speaking English with a Boston accent) and he began describing the history of the church and its artwork. As I sat listening to him, I began to look around at the people sitting in the pews near me. I was surprised to finally notice that I was completely surrounded by about thirty middle-aged men, who were also clearly American priests. As the priest in front continued speaking, he remarked that the next part of their tour would be the Camere of St. Ignatius. I had read about these rooms before – they were in a building just adjacent to the church and were where St. Ignatius had lived, worked, and died. I was excited at the possibility of getting to see these rooms. 
Adjacent to the reception room was a chapel used by St. Ignatius and his fellow Jesuits. Its simplicity was in stark contrast to the neighboring Gesù Church (and it certainly reminded me of other similar chapels from my school days - specifically, Morrissey Manor’s Chapel and Georgetown’s Copley Crypt). The next thing I knew, all of the priests began filing into another back room. Not sure what I had missed (as I had been paying attention), I peered in to see that they were donning vestments in preparation for celebrating Mass in the chapel. Not wanting to intrude any more than I already was, I just hovered in the back corner of the chapel and tried to stay out of the way. However, one of the priests then came up to me and introduced himself. He, along with the others, was obviously very excited for the opportunity to celebrate Mass in this special chapel. He pressed his small digital camera into my hand and asked that I subtly take a few pictures of him during the Mass (at appropriate times, of course). 
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