|

Rome Sweet Home

Location: Athens, Rome

This morning, on the second Sunday of Advent, we began the day with a brisk walk through Athens to the Chapel of Saint Joseph which was in a shopping mall near the hotel. 

After a very prayerful celebration of the Holy Mass, we made the short walk back to the hotel for some breakfast on the 10th floor, and to pack up our bags to get ready for the bus ride to the Athens airport to catch our flight from Athens to… ROME!

The flight was business as usual! Most of us were near the rear of the plane, and as I sat there I was struck with gratitude to the Lord for the men that I am privileged to call brothers. There was much laughter, community building, and there may have even been a card game going on a few rows back from me. Needless to say, the flight flew by as we enjoyed each others company.

Landing in Rome was a surreal experience for me. This is the first time that I have been blessed to travel to Rome. As we walked from the airport to the bus, and as we drove from the airport to our hotel, I was struck with gratitude to God for this place that we all call home. This epicenter of our Faith, which is steeped in History, is a beautiful site to behold. It is safe to say that we are all grateful for this once in a lifetime trip, and we are so grateful to all who made this trip possible.

We didn’t go to any sites today as it has been a long day of travel. We settled into our rooms then had dinner at the hotel. After that some guys went out to explore around the hotel area, some guys went to sleep early, some went for a short walk near the hotel, and some even had the opportunity to go to a soccer match!

All in all, it was a delightful day! Lots to see tomorrow, so stay tuned! 

-Evan MacKenzie, Archdiocese of Seattle

Similar Posts

Hagia Sophia
|

Hagia Sophia

After our ~16 hours of airports and flying, we made it to Istanbul, our first stop on our 2023 Mundelein pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul. Seeing as Istanbul is over 90% Muslim, like the rest of Turkey, and St. Paul never explicitly mentions stopping in the city, it might seem like a strange first place for us to visit.

Ephesus
|

Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus was a major center of the Roman world. It was a port city with a population that was near 250,000. The city had streets were made of marble and had a library that was second only to the great library of Alexandria. In the city were many temples to the Roman gods, especially the goddess Artemis, whose name was repeated for two hours in the theatre when Paul tried to proclaim the gospel in Ephesus.