"Rome strengthened my faith"

I was very excited to join Franciscan University on the trip to Rome. I tried to not have too many preconceived notions or expectations about this place, and any expectations I did have were blown out of the water.

It was a mildly difficult for me to be just as excited as many other students about visiting and touring Rome. I had never been there, and still knew very little about the city. While I had a decent appreciation for the Church here on Earth, I had no idea what I was in for!

The days in Rome were filled to the brim of activity, sights to see and things to do. We were blessed with beautiful, warm weather and lots of sunshine. A four-hour walking tour had many of us physically and mentally exhausted! Some of my favorite places to see were the Capuchin Bone Chapel (A chapel decorated with bones of capuchin monks), St. Monica’s tomb (Tour guide: “Oh, by the way, Saint Monica’s tomb is over there.” “Wait, what!?”), the top of the cupola at the Vatican, the Trevi fountain (I made sure to throw in coins), the Roman forums that are still being excavated, and the countless churches. I enjoyed hearing so many stories of the saints and of the historical events that happened in Rome. Above all, the highlight was the Scavi tour that took us beneath the basilica which is under the Vatican (!). There, we saw first century mausoleums that had been preserved with dirt that had filled this city of the dead. The mausoleums had only been discovered in 1939 and were excavated during the night in secret during World War II. Being in a place like this made 2,000 years seem like a short amount of time. Our tour guide did a fantastic job telling us a story about the bones of St. Peter, where they had been and where they are now. A specially designed NASA case keeps St. Peter’s bones safe close to where they were originally laid. It was a profound experience for me to be so close to bones that had walked on water and touched Christ. Suddenly, all the stories I had heard and read about became much more personal. They were no longer distant thoughts or ideas- they were real. Seeing the bones of St. Peter, and hearing how the centuries-old tales were confirmed through finding these bones, strengthened my faith.

I also enjoyed walking around the Roman ruins. It fascinated me to be walking down a fairly narrow street, turn a corner, and be surprised by a two-thousand year old structure in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everyday activity. These structures were built such a long time ago! I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the amount of time that these ruins have been standing.

I left Rome liking the city (and the city under the city…. under the city) much more than when I arrived. I highly recommend spending as much time as you can exploring there! Even though I toured the city for three straight days, I still feel as if I barely saw the place. There is so much to experience. I hope to go back one day!

A blog post by Monica Rust, Spring 2010