The Pantheon and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

The Pantheon and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva On entering the Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon looms unexpectedly before one’s eyes, looking as though its gray stone bulk has emerged unscathed from the depths of time. It is possibly the best preserved of all the buildings [...]
Tags: Church, Places in Rome, Our Lady

Document

St Peter’s Square

The majestic façade of St Peter’s Basilica was completed in 1614, when the thirteen statues of the risen Christ, St John the Baptist, and eleven Apostles were placed on the balustrade surmounting the edifice. The square in front of it, however, did not yet have [...]
Tags: Church, Places in Rome, Pope

Document

Little shrines to Our Lady

Little shrines to Our Lady When St Josemaría arrived in Rome in 1946 he was delighted to see how many pictures and statues of Our Lady are to be found in the streets there. He often used to ask other people in Opus Dei whether they [...]
Tags: Places in Rome, Our Lady

Document

The Colosseum

The Colosseum In 1972 St Josemaría said in a homily, “I venerate with all my strength the Rome of Peter and Paul, bathed in the blood of martyrs, the centre from which so many have set out to propagate throughout the world the saving word [...]
Tags: Places in Rome, Early Christians, Ordinary life

Document

The Via Appia

The Via Appia In the year 312 B.C. the Senator Appius Claudius was appointed Censor of the Republic of Rome. During his term of office he undertook many major reforms and public works, but history remembers him principally for the construction of the road that [...]
Tags: Places in Rome, Early Christians

Document

The Holy Cross in Jerusalem

Download The Holy Cross in Jerusalem in pdf format Among the Jews it was not permitted to bury executed criminals in the common cemetery, and this was one reason why the Body of Jesus was taken to a private tomb, given by Joseph of Arimathea (cf. [...]
Tags: Cross, Places in Rome, Holy Week

Document

St Peter’s Basilica

Download St Peter’s Basilica in pdf format. St Peter was martyred during the persecution of Christians that took place under Nero following the great fire of Rome in 64 AD. St Peter had come to Rome a few years earlier, following our Lord’s command as recorded [...]
Tags: Church, Places in Rome, Pope, Early Christians

Document

St John Lateran

Click here to download the complete the tour in pdf format.St John Lateran. During the first centuries, because of persecutions, celebration of the Eucharist and instruction in the faith took place in private houses, which some Christian families – usual those who were better off and [...]
Tags: Apostolate, Baptism, Places in Rome, Opus Dei, Early Christians

Document

The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum In the time of the Emperors, after a long period of peace and prosperity, the population of Rome had reached the impressive figure of one million people. A tiny minority of these lived in tranquil, spacious villas, while the most of the [...]
Tags: Passionately Loving the World, Citizenship, Places in Rome, Early Christians

Document

Malaysians to witness canonisation of Escriva

A group of some 20 Malaysian Catholics attended the canonization of Josemaria Escriva. A Malaysian newspaper, The Sunday Star, published a brief article on the day of the canonization ceremony to commemorate the event. KUALA LUMPUR: A group of about 20 Malaysians Catholics is attending [...]
Tags: Canonization, Places in Rome, The Will of God