End of One Journey, and Start of a New One
Location: Catacombs of St. Callixtus, Basilica of St. Paul
Today, we visited the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and the Basilica of St. Paul, followed by the opportunity for some personal sightseeing and prayer in the afternoon. The visit to St. Paul’s Basilica in a way marks the end of one aspect of our spiritual pilgrimage: throughout our time, most of our pilgrimage has been of following the steps of St. Paul, visiting the places he traveled and ministered, and reading the epistles he wrote. It was here in Rome that his earthly journey ended, with his martyrdom, and the Basilica that bears his name rests over his grave.
But it was also the start of another journey, as St. Paul is now our great saint and intercessor in heaven, and the seeds he planted helped form the early Church. This fact was vividly shown during our visit to the catacombs. Located just outside the historic boundaries of Rome, Don Samson, a Salesian priest and our guide through the catacombs, explained that over three hundred thousand people were buried there, and a third of them (one hundred thousand) were martyred for their faith. Some of the prominent tombs included several popes and St. Cecilia. The visit to the catacombs was a reminder to us not just of our own morality but also of how resilient the faith of Jesus is, even when it is quite literally pushed underground.
As we continue the next week and a half of our pilgrimage in Assisi and Northern Italy, we will depart from the areas that St. Paul visited during his life, but we will strive to continue to grow in the faith that he so passionately preached.
-Alessio Fasullo, Diocese of Albany
