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Day 3

Sunday, April 7

We spent the majority of this day in Trastevere. Trastevere means city "across the Tiber". There are many churches to see in this area and we usually stop for lunch in the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. It's a charming area with much to see!

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On our walk to Trastevere from our hotel, we visited the Circus Maximus. At the end of the day, we visited the Basilica of St. Praxedes which we had missed on Monday. We arrived just before the basilica closed.

1. Circus Maximus

To the right of S. Anastasia and beyond the Via de Cerchi stood the Circus Maximus, between the slopes of the Palatine and the Aventine. It was begun by the kings, enlarged by Cæsar, and made capable of seating 385,000 persons. The last race took place under King Totila, 549.

 

The place has a melancholy interest, because of the great fire of Rome in A.D. 64, for which thousands of innocent Christians were condemned to barbarous deaths. Nero had set fire to the city, partly out of a fiendish spirit of destruction, partly with the object of rebuilding it on a plan of greater splendor; and to screen himself from suspicion he charged the Christians with the crime. The flames first broke out on July 19, A.D. 64, among the shops and warehouses near the Circus Maximus. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)

2. The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island

The part of the island where stood the ancient temple of Æsculapius, is now occupied by the church and Franciscan monastery of S. Bartolomeo. The church was built by the Emperor Otho III, about the year 983, to receive the body of the Apostle, St. Bartholomew, translated from Lipari to Benevento in 809, and from Benevento to Rome in 983. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)

3. Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere

"Ave Maria" sung by the Immaculate Conception High School choir

Originally the family mansion of St. Cecilia, it was converted into a church by St. Urban in 230, in accordance with her dying request. The approach is by a spacious courtyard, on the right of which is a large marble cantharus, or vase, belonging probably to the original palace. The bell tower dates from 1120.

The delicate carving of the drapery should be noticed. The Blessed Sacrament is usually reserved in the first chapel of the right aisle. Next to this is the Caldarium, or bathroom, where St. Cecilia was martyred, with the original pipes along the wall for conveying steam from the boiler. The marble slab on the altar is the one on which she was struck by the executioner, and above it is an exquisite painting of her martyrdom by Guido Reni

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The body found incorrupt in A.D. 1599. Nearly eight hundred years afterwards, Cardinal Sfondrati, of the title of St. Cecilia, made considerable alterations in the church, and in course of his excavations in the sanctuary, came upon a wide vault beneath the altar. Two marble sarcophagi met his eyes. Trustworthy witnesses had already been summoned, and in their presence one of these sarcophagi was opened. It was found to contain a coffin of cypress wood . The Cardinal himself drew back the coffin lid. First appeared the precious lining and silk gauze with which Paschal had covered the body nearly eight centuries before. Its colour had faded, but the fabric was still entire, and through its transparent folds could be seen the shining gold of the robes in which the martyr was clothed. After pausing a few moments the Cardinal gently removed this silken covering, and the virgin form of St. Cecilia appeared in the very same attitude in which she had breathed her last on the pavement of the house, and which neither Urban nor Paschal had ventured to disturb. Lying on her right side, with her arms extended in front of her body, she looked like one in deep sleep. The head was turned downwards, the knees were slightly bent. The body was perfectly incorrupt, and by a special miracle retained, after more than thirteen hundred years, all its grace and modesty, and recalled, with the most truthful exactness, Cecilia breathing forth her soul on the pavement of the bath.

 

All Rome came to see the virgin martyr, whose body lay exposed for veneration for the space of four or five weeks; and when the tomb was again closed on St. Cecilia's day, 1599, the Pope himself sang the Mass. Cardinal Sfondrati erected the beautiful high altar which now stands over the Saint's tomb, and beneath it be placed an exquisite statue by Maderno, the foremost sculptor of the day, who had frequently seen the body, and made an exact copy of it in the very posture in which it lay. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)

4. Basilica of Saint Chrysogonus

On the ceiling of the nave is a copy of Guercino's Triumph of St. Chrysogonus, the original of which was stolen at the beginning of the eighteenth century and found its way to England. The Saint was a martyr, who was beheaded in the persecution of Diocletian, his body being cast into the sea. The devotion of the early Church to him is attested by the insertion of his name in the Canon of the Mass. In the right aisle may be seen the incorrupt body of Venerable Anna Maria Taigi, who died in 1857. (Pilgrim Walks in Rome)

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About Blessed Anna Maria Taigi:

She was an Italian Catholic who married Domenico Taigi at age 20. His turbulent manner and quick temper caused Anna much suffering, but it also caused her to exercise the virtues of patience, kindness, meekness, humility, and forgiveness. Her relationship with him sanctified her soul in ineffable ways, and it speaks to the hearts of all those who are enduring difficult marital situations. Throughout her marriage, Anna Maria bore seven children, three of whom died in childhood. The remaining two boys and two girls were richly blessed by her loving and attentive concern for their religious, moral, and academic education.​

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In 1863, Anna Maria was given the title of Servant of God and she was beatified on May 20, 1920. At her beatification ceremony, Pope Benedict XV spoke of her as being an exemplary wife and mother amid poor and trying circumstances. She was frequently in ecstasy and worked miracles of healing, read hearts, foretold deaths, and saw visions about the coming of future events. For example, she foretold the first two world wars of this century. Eighteen years after her death, her body remained perfectly preserved as if it had been just buried the day before.

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Blessed Anna Maria Taigi lends us a beautiful example of what it means to live a life of total self-giving as a wife, mother, and friend of Our Lord. In her, we may find a true companion and a source of consolation during difficult times. Her wisdom can fortify our souls and give us the strength to carry on. Source

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