No, we didn’t visit all of the 900+ churches in Rome, but we did explore 1% of them.  We realize that does not sound very impressive. But, we did spend quite a bit of time in each of the incredibly beautiful nine churches, including sitting in a pew or on a chair to appreciate the many, many details. Four of the churches we visited are featured here and the other five were included in previous posts.

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore – Built in 432 AD, this large basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the largest of the 80 churches in the city dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The large marble columns were originally part of an ancient Roman building from the 4th century or earlier. The impressive gold on the ceiling came from Columbus’ adventure to America. We definitely need to visit this basilica again on August 5th to experience the thousands of white petals falling from the ceiling during the Miracle of Snows celebration. The service commemorates the legend of the 1911 summer snowfall. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

One of the most memorable parts of our time at the church was a special afternoon mass.  We watched the ceremonial procession and about half of the service, which was in Latin and Italian. Even though we did not understand the words spoken and sung and have limited knowledge about Catholic masses, it was still interesting to see all of the ceremonial features. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Basilica San Pietro in Vincoli – The interior decor of this small church is much simpler than other 5th century churches. The addition of “in Vincoli” (in chains) to the basilica name helps distinguish it from St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

• 

• 

• 

Pope Leo I commissioned this church to be built to house St. Peter’s chains from his Jerusalem imprisonment. According to legend, when the pope compared these chains to the ones used to imprison St. Peter in Rome, the two chains miraculously linked together. So now the combined chain is stored in a special case under the main altar.

• 

Another special feature of the basilica is Michelangelo’s 16th century statue of Moses. It was created as part of a large set of sculptures for the tomb of Pope Julius II at the Vatican where the pope is actually buried. Michelangelo carved horns on the top of Moses’ head instead of the rays of light (radiance of the Lord) in the Exodus story of Moses coming down from Sinai. Some historians believe Michelangelo included horns because of an incorrect translation of the Bible and other scholars state that during the 1500s it was commonly understood that the horns, which were easier to sculpt, depicted the rays of light.

• 

• 

Archbasilica San Giovanni – This impressive, ornate church, the official cathedral of Rome, is the seat of the bishop of Rome. One of the Pope’s roles is serving as the bishop of Rome and he comes here on Holy Thursday to bless the congregation. Little of the original church, built in the 4th century, remains due to fires, earthquakes, and vandals. Nevertheless, we were definitely wowed when looking at the beautiful and intricate frescoes, columns, sculptures, mosaics, gold ceiling, and large pipe organ that cover almost every centimeter of the church’s interior.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The very tall, bronze central doors came from the Roman Senate House, built in 44 BC in the Roman Forum.

• 

• 

• 

Chiesa di San Lorenzo ad Sancta Sanctorum – The Church of Saint Lawrence stands across street from Archbasilica San Giovanni. Built in 1589, the small church combines 16th century art and architecture with a 20th century style altar and seating, resulting in a comfortable and beautiful place of worship. The building not only includes the church, but also two very significant Catholic holy places: Sancta Sanctorum and Scala Santa.

• 

• 

Sancta Sanctorum, also known as the Holy of Holies or the chapel of Saint Lawrence, is a medieval private papal chapel. Unfortunately we did not get to see the chapel, which is only open to visitors on a special guided tour. But we still took a photo of the entryway.

• 

According to Roman Catholic tradition, the Holy Stairs are the same steps Jesus climbed up to the palace of Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ trial. Scholars report that Saint Helena brought the 28 white marble steps of the Scala Santa to Rome in the 4th century. Catholics believe that they can earn indulgences by climbing the steps on their knees. In 1893 Pope Leo XIII granted indulgences of 300 hundred days toward the souls in purgatory for each Holy Step ascended. From the early 1700s until April 2019 the stairs were protected with a wood covering. Now people can climb the stairs on their knees directly touching the marble. During our visit we saw about 10 people climb the Scala Santa. We used our feet to climb the alternate staircase, located just to the right of the Holy Stairs, to reach the church and historic, holy chapel.

•