Friday

The Station Church week wrapped up at Santo Stefano Rotondo (St. Stephen the Round?), not far from the Colosseum. It is a very unique church, at least for the city of Rome, because it is actually a round church. I know, I know. You're asking, "What's so special about a round church? Almost every church these days is round!" Well, that is true, but this church wasn't built in the 20th century - it was built in the 5th century! 

It's hard to get a good feel for the place from this photo, but if you have a good imagination, it's not impossible. You can see the altar near the very bottom of the photo. That's in the center of the church. The church is kind of divided in half by these pillars that support the ceiling. All the chairs are in one half of the church, and the other half is basically unused.

Aside from the architecture of the church, its decoration is also interesting. All around the church, the walls are covered with images of martyrdom. There are 33 "panels" depicting the stories of at least three martyrs in each panel.

I'm not sure who the martyrs are in this photo (as I didn't take the photo), but you get the basic idea. One interesting thing about it is that the images are actually kind of labeled with letters that correspond to descriptions below the paintings. If you look really closely, you might be able to see a red "A," a red "B" and a black "D" in the image above. I don't know where the "C" is. (Oh! There it is, toward the right edge, in black.) Anyway, below the painting there is a key that tells you who is being martyred in each of those scenes. Confused?

One of the highlights of the visit to this church (which only recently re-opened after being restored over the course of some years) was seeing and touching an ancient chair upon which Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604 A.D.) sat while he preached a homily on the Gospel of Matthew. St. Gregory is one of my favorite saints; I took his name at my Confirmation, mostly because he is one of the patron saints of musicians. Then I later learned more of his story and came to like him even more. Anyway, it's pretty incredible to have such an opportunity, where the stories that sometimes seem like "just stories" or imagined tales meet with the reality that exists before your eyes and under your fingers. This is one of the treats of living in Rome.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

p.s. I'm on page three of the thesis...