Little gems in Rome

The centro storico of Rome has hundreds of little Churches; they seem small because the standard of comparison is the Major Basilicas. One of my favourites is the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena which is a rare example of Roman roccoco. At the front of the Church on the epistle side is a chapel with the crucifix before which St Camillus was praying; the arms of Our Lord detached themselves from the cross and reached out to St Camillus who then founded his order for the care of the sick.

Later in the day, I took a stroll off to the east of the Campo de' Fiori, hoping to find the Church of Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini. I could have looked it up on a map, of course, but it is pleasant just to wander around those old streets. Coming across a Church that I thought was in roughly the right place, I met Fr Brendan Gerard FSSP on the steps.

SSma Trinita is a real gem - my photo above was taken on the camera phone. I'll have the proper camera with me later. It is good to see a Roman Church in its original splendour without a table in front of the High Altar and without electric candle stands blocking the way to the side altars. At SSma Trinita, the side altars all have altar cards and a missal ready for priests to say Mass.

Fr Charles and I will be calling over there later today to say Mass. But first we must stroll along to St Peter's Square and receive the blessing of the Holy Father. It's wonderful the things you can just stroll along to in Rome! The Holy Father includes family and friends in the blessing that he gives. I will make an explicit intention to include the readers of this blog.

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