Last Day in Rome
First stop was the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli - St. Peter in Chains. They claim to have the chains that were used for Peter while he was imprisoned. This church also has a large sculpture work by Michelangelo which was to have been a funeral marker for a pope but got too big - and it is massive!
Next was Santa Prassede. This church is dedicated to one of two daughters of Pudens, a roman senator who was a christian and is mentioned in 2 Timothy. A special experience was visiting the church dedicated to her sister, Sant Pudenzianna. This is thought to be the earliest place of Christian worship in Rome and Puden’s home. His sons later allowed a 1st - 2nd c bath to be created here, and then a church was built using the bath structure. There are excavations going on 60 feet below the church of the massive rooms of the bath. The sisters are credited with collecting the remains of Christian martyrs in Rome and hiding them in a dried up well - which is incorporated into the church. The apse mosaic dates to 420 AD is one of the oldest in Rome. It shows some features of Jerusalem at that time. PB arranged for a closer look at the mosaic after closing time. The caretaker took us up to a balcony and then also allowed us into an oratory (side chapel) that has beautiful old mosaics still visible.
We stopped at several more churches, including one with the older 4th century church excavated below it. Arrived at the basilica of Mary Maggiore just before the long pilgrim lines as this is one of the 4 papal basilicas with a holy door that is open for the Jubilee year.
The excavations below the Church of Sant Maria In Via Lata have much evidence of being the apartments of Paul’s house arrest. It is a 1st c apartment (now well below street level, but was at street level) and has signs of Christian worship dating back to the first century. Christians later further preserved the site by continually building worship spaces on top of it and finally a basilica.
We have logged a lot of miles walking on uneven paving and ancient Roman roads!
Missing everyone and excited to get home! God Bless, PB & Margery, Scott and Shelly
Basilica of Santa Pudenziana, daughter of Pudens (2 Timothy 4:21)
