In one of the countless churches that one encounters in the center of Rome lies one of the greatest women of all time. The uneducated daughter of a businessman, St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) singlehandedly convinced the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon, 
France, where Popes had been living for decades. An intense mystic, Catherine didn’t eat a thing or sleep a wink for years, received direct communications from both Christ and God the Father, and miraculously learned to read and write overnight–because Our Lord declared that He would teach her how. Catherine was named Patroness of Italy in 1939, Doctor of the Church in 1970, and Patroness of all Europe in 1999. Not too shabby, for a girl who never went to school! Continue reading
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one of Rome’s most important art galleries. Its coloring and brilliant light effects make it an artistic treasure; but how many visitors actually understand what it depicts? 
you don’t hear of any tourists who are anxious to walk along those streets, do you? Further compounding the mystery, those same fascinated foreigners can never really explain why it is that they think the Appian Way is worth a visit. 
It too screams “Counter-reformation!” as it was deliberately designed to be the absolute antithesis of the dour, austere, always-wear-black mentality of Jean Calvin and many of the other protestant leaders. The chapel containing Ignatius’ tomb is simply dripping with precious marbles, lapis lazuli, silver and gold–including the jaw-dropping, larger-than-life silver statue of Ignatius which you can see here, as well as on the main page of our website. 
Tucked in a corner in the center of Rome is a church that is partially dedicated to the memory of St. Pantaleon–but he shares that honor with a very different saint, who lived many centuries later. 
Catholic churches as well… but if they thought about it, that is always unusual enough to merit one’s full attention! 
through the hot and humid streets near St. Peter’s Square. Most on-lookers were probably familiar with this Marian title… but how many people know where and how it originated? 
One of our guides was in church one day, when a group of tourists arrived and gathered around this painting nearby. It was impossible not to overhear every word that this guide told the people in the group. 
fees? Zero. Visiting the Pantheon is always free. Did you ever wonder why? 
The fact is, even if you have all the time and patience in the world, you’re simply 
exhibition of fabulous works by a British artist who not only never came to Italy… he probably couldn’t have cared less. 
stamina and the time, and you love crowds… you get to see the Raphael Rooms as a reward. 
often leads confused visitors to wonder whether they were beheaded deliberately. Nope! In quite a few cases, the statue simply toppled over at some point, and the thinnest parts of it broke–like the neck.
the Vatican Museums!”
imagined in a million years that in a century to come, extremists would destroy many of the artifacts he didn’t manage to bring to Rome–and brutally murder at least one eminent archaeologist who vainly tried to protect and preserve them. 
was also styled the “Prince of Peace” by his pagan subjects. 
so maybe it’s a good time for us all to pause and be collectively appalled at the theft of a painting of the Sacred Heart from a famous church in the center of Rome. 
people of Rome in the 1500’s. 
Trinity. How could three Persons be one God? 
After all, they’re wandering that part of the city because they’re looking for bargains, not because they’re looking for a miracle. But back in the year 1256, that’s exactly what the locals got. 
of Florence, which was a different nation at the time. What “works of Michelangelo and Bernini” have they got in there, and why don’t we know about them? 
Virgin Mary. They can be found on the walls of private homes, apartment houses, embassies, restaurants, you name it! 
the street, like boys all over the world in every era. Over their heads was this nondescript fresco of the Madonna and Child, plastered onto the side of an apartment house. 
climb–and we know exactly where it is.) Few tourists have any indication that the history of this church goes all the way back to the very beginnings of ancient Rome. 
mother, who was convinced for much of her son’s life that he was the gods’ gift to Rome. As can be seen from the child’s portrait-bust, the wealthy Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and his wife Agrippina had produced a real cherub! But no parents really know how their children are going to turn out, do they? 
right past it without a glance; a few look inside inquiringly, but can’t figure out what it’s all about, so they move on. 
wandering around aimlessly, unsure of which displays to really focus on… and they invariably miss THIS extraordinary treasure. 
scattered all over the city, and have been here for centuries! What are they doing here? 
cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 
and if they were unaware of that, they arrived an hour late!
Scipione Pulzone (1544-1598).
