Fr. Forlano’s Blog

 +m Many of the churches in Rome have Mass in the evening followed by the Rosary.  Right up the street from  where we are staying is the Church of St. Alfonso and the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.  I made a visit there and prayed the Rosary there before dinner.  The Shrine is run by the Redemptorists, the order founded by St. Alphonsus Liguouri.  St. John Neumann, the 4th Bishop of Philadelphia, was a Redemptorist.  This church was also the Titular Church of Cardinal Bevilacqua, the Archbishop of Philadelphia who ordained me to the priesthood in 2003.  Note the mosaic of St. John Neumann with the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia's Cathedral pictured in the background.   Muchas de las iglesias de Roma celebran la misa por la noche seguida del Rosario. Justo al final de la calle donde nos hospedamos se encuentra la Iglesia de San Alfonso y el Santuario de Nuestra Madre del Perpetuo Socorro. Hice una visita allí y recé el Rosario antes de cenar. El S

 +m Our last stop for the day and our 6th church on the 7 churches pilgrimage was to St. Lawrence Outside the Walls.  St. Lawrence the Archdeacon of the church of Rome and was martyred in 257 after refusing to turn the treasures of the church over to the Emperor.  He was killed by being grilled alive and famously said to his torturers, "I'm finished on this side, you can turn me over."  St. Stephen, the first martyr, and also a deacon is also buried here.  

+m We visited Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, our 5th of the seven pilgrim churches of Rome, later that afternoon.  Santa Croce, a short distance from St. John Lateran, was also founded by Constantine.  The apse contains frescoes that tell the story of St. Helena finding the Holy Cross.  There is a 20th century chapel connected to the church that contains several relics related to the Passion: three pieces of the True Cross, a nail, and part of the panel that hung over Jesus' head on which Pilate had written the charge against Jesus.   Reliquias/Relics of the Passion Esa misma tarde visitamos Santa Croce en Jerusalén, nuestra quinta de las siete iglesias de peregrinación de Roma. Santa Croce, a poca distancia de San Juan de Letrán, también fue fundada por Constantino. El ábside contiene frescos que cuentan la historia de Santa Elena encontrando la Santa Cruz. Hay una capilla del siglo XX conectada a la iglesia que contiene varias reliquias relacionadas con la Pasión: tres pedazos de la

 +m Our St. Philip Pilgrimage Day continued with a visit to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.  The basilica is, after St. Peter's, the largest church in Rome.  The original church was built over the tomb of St. Paul by Constantine in the first half of the 4th century and soon expanded to accommodate an increasing number of pilgrims.  The current church is a reconstruction after a fire almost completely destroyed the church in 1823.  The basilica is also known for having the portraits of all the popes done in mosaic, testifying to the apostolic succession from Peter to the current pope.   Nuestro Día de Peregrinación de San Felipe continuó con una visita a la Basílica de San Pablo Extramuros. La basílica es, después de San Pedro, la iglesia más grande de Roma. La iglesia original fue construida sobre la tumba de San Pablo por Constantino en la primera mitad del siglo IV y pronto se amplió para dar cabida a un número cada vez mayor de peregrinos. La iglesia actual es una re

 We celebrated Mass in the Basilica of St. Sebastian, the church where we find the relics St. Sebastian, the bodyguard of the emperor who was martyred when it was discover that he was a Christian.  After Mass we took a tour of the Catacombs where the Christian community in Rome buried their dead between the third and the 5th centuries A.D.  (No pictures or video are permitted in the catacombs.) Prayer to St. Sebastian Glorious Sebastian, martyr and saint,
 I call on your strength and courage
to help me through this difficult trial.
Your faith was so deep,
a multitude of arrows could not finish you.
I ask for your intercession 
that I may also survive that which threatens 
to destroy my beliefs in the mercy of Christ. Amen. Celebramos Misa en la Basílica de San Sebastián, iglesia donde se encuentran las reliquias de San Sebastián, el guarda espaldas del emperador que fue martirizado al descubrirse que era cristiano. Después de la Misa hicimos un recorrido por las Catacumbas donde la com

 +m We began our day dedicated to St. Philip at Santa Maria in Vallicella, also known as the "Chiesa Nuova" or the "New Church" built by St. Philip Neri.  This church is where St. Philip is buried, and after St. Philip transferred the Oratory to "Chiesa Nuova", the church became a center for liturgical and cultural renewal in Rome through the leadership of St. Philip.  We prayed the Litany to St. Philip before his tomb and asked for his intercession as we began our tour of four of the seven pilgrim churches of Rome. St. Philip, pray for us! Comenzamos nuestro día dedicado a San Felipe en Santa María in Vallicella, también conocida como la "Chiesa Nuova" o la "Iglesia Nueva" construida por San Felipe Neri. Esta iglesia es donde está enterrado San Felipe, y después de que San Felipe transfiriera el Oratorio a la "Chiesa Nuova", la iglesia se convirtió en un centro de renovación litúrgica y cultural en Roma gracias al liderazgo d

 The Basilica of San Clemente, dedicated to St. Clement I, the 4th pope, is a beautiful church rich in history.  The church of the middle ages is built over a 6th century church which itself is built over a 1st century house church.  The house church contains the remains of a temple to the Roman god Mithras.  See the website for more on the history of the Church of San Clemente: https://basilicasanclemente.com/eng/history/ One was not allowed to take pictures in the areas of the 6th century and 1st century churches.   La Basílica de San Clemente, dedicada a San Clemente I, cuarto Papa, es una hermosa iglesia rica en historia. La iglesia de la Edad Media está construida sobre una iglesia del siglo VI, que a su vez está construida sobre una iglesia en casa del siglo I. La iglesia de la casa contiene los restos de un templo dedicado al dios romano Mitra.  No se permitía tomar fotografías en las áreas de las iglesias de los siglos VI y I.