I Lead Pilgrimages in Rome, Only Rome

  CANDLEMAS DAY PILGRIMAGE, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 February 2nd is Groundhog Day for many of us, but on the Saints’ calendar it is the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple 40 days after his birth celebrated as Candlemas Day.  It commemorates Christ as the light of the world.  Candlemas Day signifies the end of Christmas and looks forward to the vigil of the Passion of Christ.  Many people keep their Christmas displays up until February 2nd. We will attend 8 or 9:00 AM Candlemas in the Borghese Chapel at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.  The Servers will give us slender white candles to hold, they will light the candles for us and we can hold the lit  candles through the Blessing.  After Mass we return the candles to the Server.  It is a sweet ceremony that involves our participation in everything Christ, his birth at Christmas and his passion at Easter. We will pray at the Manger in the Reliquary, the Manger brought to Rome from Jerusalem by St. ...

 LENT in ROME is a unique one in a kind experience, it revolves around attending Mass every morning or evening at a different Station Church from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.   The order of the Lenten Station Churches remains the same year after year since Ancient Rome times when Pope Gregory the Great established and standardized Lenten Station Churches in Rome by 600 A.D.   The practice of the Lenten Station Churches however derives from fourth century Jerusalem.  If you’ve always wanted to participate in Ancient Ebraic practices, Rome is the place to do it.  These Ancient Lenten practices were supported with processions, fasting and prayer.  And a thriving sense of community as Churches all across Rome in turn came alive with  celebrations of the Lenten Season.  Only in Rome. If you can stay in Rome for 47 days in 2024 from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, we can experience Mass at a different Station Church every day.  Or come when...

 ASH WEDNESDAY falls on FEBRUARY 14, 2024 ! ROME is the only place in the world with a unique LENTEN STATION DAY CHURCH calendar, where special Churches have the same Station Day throughout the entire Lenten season every year.  Established since ANCIENT ROME, on that day every Lent, Mass is said in that Church, beginning with ASH WEDNESDAY.  Even though the dates change year to year, the ORDER of the Station Days stays the same year after year. Back in the day in Ancient Rome, Christianity attempted to form real communities among the clergy hierarchy and the people who lived near a church assigned a Station Day in Lent.  The POPE would show up on the Station Day of that church and say Mass.  The POPE repeated this action every day of Lent, showing up at each church assigned a Station Day and saying Mass. Today however, the Pope shows up only once, at the church with the first Station Day.  That church is always Saint Sabina on the Aventine Hill in Rome. ...

 PILGRIMAGES OF CAPODANNO, Epifania and LA BEFANA, SANT’AGNESE and THE CONVERSION OF SANT’PAOLO, ALL IN ROME IN JANUARY 2024, THESE ARE 3-HOUR PILGRIMAGES. CAPODANNO IN ROME! JANUARY 1 is Capodanno and Maria Madre di Dio, starting off  with a 10:00 Papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and the Angelus at Noon in St. Peter’s Square.  We’ll have to stand in St. Peter’s Square and watch the NewYear’s Day Mass on the Jumbotron if we can’t obtain tickets to go inside St. Peter’s Basilica for the Mass.  YES it may be very COLD outside!  But we’re going to a cooking class where we can eat HOT LENTILS AND COTECHINO AND HOMEMADE PANE!  I arrange all transportation and cooking class. EPIPHANY AND LA BEFANA IN ROME! Then you have the rest of the week to plan for the coming of LA BEFANA on January 6.  EPIPHANY has a 10:00 Papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, and then we can gather at Piazza Navona and wait for the arrival of La Befana!  It’s a good time to eat CA...

https://www.testaccina.com/easter-in-rome/ You should read this article by Isobel Lee because it gives you a good idea of the diligent exuberance surrounding Easter Week in Rome and celebration options available for public participation.  From Palm Sunday, the Holy Triduum, and Easter Sunday, Rome is ablaze in flowers and colors and outdoor events.   The Outside Palm Sunday Procession and Mass are delightful to watch for the beautifully braided Palms.  If you ever braided Palms in Catholic School like I did this sight will be especially meaningful for you.  Some of the Palm braids are more elaborate than those I learned but I learned enough to identify and delight in the old standbys!  It’s in St. Peter’s Square and the Square is packed.  Early morning rising needed here to get a good breakfast and good front row seats.   Maundy Thursday is a wonderful day of Catholic events and celebrations.  Isobel mentioned a 7 P.M. foot washing ceremony at the...

The Botanical Garden of Rome https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/botanical-garden-rome 3-hour Pilgrimage to Nature in Rome.  The Botanical Gardens, and Rome has Rose Gardens, an Orange Grove, and an Outdoor ZOO!  And it has the most famous and vast Borghese Gardens! This Nature Pilgrimage is an Anytime Anyday Pilgrimage that I would love to do with you, the softer side of Rome, it’s not all stone and rock!  No matter the weather or time of year, if it’s OPEN, we walk in and enjoy! Flat fee of 500 Euro, cost may be adjusted for a group depending on size.  I arrange for all transportation.  Email me at sandra.panici@hotmail.com or text me on Messages or WhatsApp at 01139 338 744 7764 for Account Details.   Sandra Panici, the Roman Pilgrim in Person in Rome

 I lead a Rome Christmas Pilgrimage every year.  If you can’t make it this year come next year and/or the years thereafter.  The dates will be the same.  This is helpful information for those who need to give advanced notice at work. This is a 3-day Pilgrimage from December 24 through December 26.  Lodging begins on December 23 along with afternoon Aperitivo and Dinner.  The Feast of the Seven Fishes, usually a Christmas Eve event, will be presented on either December 23 or December 24, depending on how Rome restaurants prepare it this year.  This Feast is life changing and a staple event at Christmas Eve.  Either way, dining begins on December 23, whether it’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes or Aperitivo and Dinner. For 2023 we will follow the Pontifical North American College (PNAC) calendar I posted separately.  PNAC reports that the Vatican Calendar is updated now only a few days in advance.  So we have more information from PNAC on ev...

 REMEMBER IF YOU MISS ANY OF THE PILGRIMAGES LISTED HERE FOR SPECIFIC DATES, I CAN ALWAYS DO THEM AGAIN, EXCEPT FOR SEASONAL FESTIVITIES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR, I CAN REPEAT THESE ONLY AT THEIR SPECIFIC TIMES OF THE YEAR. ANYTIME ANYDAY PILGRIMAGES YOUR WAY IN ROME ARE CUSTOM DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR DESIRES ON WHAT TO SEE IN ROME.  JUST SAY WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE OR EXPERIENCE IN ROME AND I CAN HELP YOU PLAN A HALF DAY PILGRIMAGE. HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE A WALKING PILGRIMAGE FOR A COST OF 300 EURO MAXIMUM . THERE’s NOTHING LIKE EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT OF ROME FROM YOUR OWN TWO FEET.  NO DRIVER, NO VEHICLE BETWEEN YOU AND THE SOUL OF ROME.  IF YOU WANT TO TAKE BUSES AND TRAMS AND METRO LIKE LOCALS, YOU CAN HAVE A PILGRIMAGE THAT REPLICATES LOCAL LIFE.  HOWEVER YOU FEEL MOST ALIVE IS A TREASURE AND IT’s ONLY 300 EURO.  As Always I Handle ALL LOGISTICS IN ROME. These are PRIVATE PILGRIMAGES INTENDED TO MEET REQUESTS OF A PERSON...

  https://www.pnac.org/visitorsoffice/advent-and-christmas-in-rome/ A list and schedule of Christmas Masses in Rome for 2023, at St. Peter’s Basilica and other Churches in Rome.  Save this list to plan your Christmas in Rome.  Information from the Pontifical North American College in Rome.   I can add that on 26 December 2023, La Chiesa di Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome will hold Mass in Italian at 11:00 A.M. on that Church’s Station Day, the Feast Day of Santo Stefano, a national public holiday in Italy. Email sandra.panici@hotmail.com or text me on Messages or WhatsApp at 01139 338 744 7764 for Account Details.  0039 is area code if texting from Europe.  I live in Rome. Sandra Panici, The Roman Pilgrim in Person 

In advance of my Rome Halloween Pilgrimage, a trip to the Church of Prayer and Death at Via Giulia 262 gave me some very good news, the Church is now OPEN from 3 to 6 P.M. Monday through Saturday, and from 10 to 12 Noon P.M. Sunday mornings with Mass at 10 A.M. Sunday mornings.   The Church standing here now was built in 1734, or rather rebuilt from the original Church built in 1575 by the Confraternity of Prayer and Death.  8,600 bodies have been buried here from 1572 to 1896 by the Confraternity of the Good Death or aka the Confraternity of Prayer and Death, formed in 1572 to bury the poor, discarded bodies of the dead, abandoned and rotting in the streets, fields and Tiber River.  This Confraternity built the Churches.  It is currently supported by an Archconfraternity. Originally the Church had 3 underground tunnels connecting it to the Tiber River, in which it would store bodies awaiting burial.  Those tunnels eroded over time with flooding and in 1886 with...

  A visit to the Basilica of San Clemente this morning netted me some new information.  We’re allowed only a half hour underground now.  Evidently the tourist surge after COVID has affected the Frescoes adversely, the increased humidity has caused the Frescoes to fade and disappear.  There is talk of restoration but that could close off areas and floors.  Sadly a new concern, some things don’t last forever even in the Eternal City! My main reason for visiting San Clemente was to take photos of San Clemente holding the ANCHOR, his instrument of martyrdom.  The Anchor is partially hidden by a corner cornice and it’s way up high, making it hard to see.  But when you have a camera that doubles as binoculars up to 25 ZOOM, you can see through and past anything!   So ahead of my ROME THANKSGIVING PILGRIMAGE,  here is a photo of San Clemente holding the Anchor.  This photo is for all guests who came to San Clemente but couldn’t see the Anchor. ...

 Not surprising the Basilica of San Clemente was a house church!  It was a secret church for the Popes for a long time for sure up until the 4th century when Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. giving religious freedom to worship to Christians.  But the structure is layered and complex and outlining the foundation under the Churches - there are two Churches - is an exercise in Prayer and worth the effort. It all started when the Great Fire of 64 A.D. burned down the Villa at the site built in the Republican era, 509 B.C.E, - 27 B.C.E.  Foundations were left intact.  Two buildings separated by a very narrow Alleyway were built at the site in the 1st century.  A Roman villa 3 stories high and an Imperial Mint factory and warehouse.   In the 2nd century the basement of the Roman villa was converted to a Mithraeum Altar and complex which you can visit today.  In the 3rd century the mint warehouse was abandoned and filled in ...

 San Clemente was Pope Clemente I who was Bishop of Rome from 88 A.D. to 99 A.D., suffering persecution from Roman Emperor Trajan.  Pope Clemente I wrote the Letter to the Corinth Church establishing Bishops and Presbytery and Clerics as Apostolic Authority of the Church.  Paul refers to Pope Clemente I in his Letter to Philippians.  Clemente knew both Peter and Paul in Rome and his work was consecrated by Peter.  Clemente was either 2nd or 3rd succession following Peter who was the first Bishop of Rome.   Emperor Trajan sent Clemente to work in a stone quarry in an area now known as Crimea in Ukraine.  He found prisoners dying of thirst so he made a spring of fresh water.  For that he got banished to a ship in the Black Sea where he got anchored around his neck and thrown overboard.  When the Sea ebbs it is said that an underground Altar is revealed holding his relics.   In the 9th century two brothers and theologians found San Clemente...

 I lead this Thanksgiving Pilgrimage every year, especially helpful to know for guests who have to give advanced notice at work.  The dates will change year to year, but a Thanksgiving Pilgrimage will be a Thanksgiving Pilgrimage year after year. 3 - day Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving November 21 through November 23,  begins with the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, continues with the Feast Day of Santa Cecilia and ends with the Feast of San Clemente.  Morning Mass Observances and Evening Rosary Prayers.  Early Morning Risings. First day begins with Mass at the Altar of the Presentation of Mary aka the Altar of Pope Pius X in La Basilica di San Pietro at Vatican City.  The day will be devoted to visiting mosaics, paintings and drawings depicting the Presentation of Mary at Chiesa Nuova, Santa Maria del Monti, Santa Maria degli Angeli and Cappella dell’Annunziata.  Evening Rosary at San Pietro.   2nd day is Mass at La Basilica di Santa Cecilia ...

I lead this Halloween Pilgrimage every year, the dates will always occur at the end of October and November 1.  This is helpful information to know for guests who have to give advanced notice at work. 3-day Rome Halloween Pilgrimage is October 30, 31, and November 1, 2023.  Cost is 500 Euro per person per day for 4 days.  This is the spookiest of all pilgrimages because it’s mostly about visible impressions saints left behind and legends connected to spectacular but true events for ordinary folks who had a little something special about them.   We will have Mass at San Callisto Catacombs and tour the Catacombs, visit the nearby Church of Quo Vadis that marks where Peter saw Jesus, and the Church of San Sebastian down the road to see the marble impressions of Jesus’s footprints from Quo Vadis.  November 1 Mass at the Church of Ognissanti with the Writhing Cross, the most provocative cross of all time. We will visit the places in Rome where legends are made of, th...

 Sunday October 15 is the FEAST OF ST. TERESA D’AVILA.  You will find the ECSTASY OF ST. TERESA  sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the Church of SANTA MARIA DELLA VITTORIA near the Repubblica Metro Line A stop.  You can walk from Roma Termini or take the underground Metro Line A to the next stop that is Repubblica.   The sculpture is large and is situated high up a wall well off the floor so you have to look up high to view it.  Personally I think we’d see more of it on the floor but it’s not coming down any time soon.  Its elevated position may attempt to add an ethereal element to an otherwise physically dominant portrayal of the Ecstasy of St. Teresa, at least that’s how Bernini saw it.  Or did he?  How did Bernini see Teresa’s ecstasy? To Teresa it was divine love but with an Angel with a sly smirk on his face ready to pierce her heart with a golden spear of love to manifest her mystical union with God, and the look on St. Teresa’s face...

 The LIVING ICON images of the Virgin Mary I have been writing about are in the tradition of the HODEGETRIA.  The first Hodegetria was recorded in the 11th century and from the 12th century hung in the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople, Turkey.  The information we have about Luke painting these icons comes from the understanding collected in the Middle Ages. The Greek word Hodegetria means she who shows the way.  Typically the Virgin Mary holds the Christ child on her left arm, her right hand raised and pointing toward him as the way to salvation.  The distinctive feature of icons Luke painted is that they are LIVING ICONS, PAINTED IN THE ACTUAL PRESENCE OF MARY.  Often Christ is depicted as a homunculus, a little man, tiny but with the growth and maturity of a grown man, embodying the future of his Ministry on Earth. The Hodegon Monastery had a natural Spring on the grounds that cured blindness.  Along with the Hodegetria, the monastery was a popula...

 MADONNA DEL CONFORTO, Madonna of Comfort in Rome, is a contact copy of the original Hodegetria, an encaustic on canvas sent to western Emperor Valentinian III at the birth of his daughter in 439, first installed in Santa Maria Antiqua in the Roman Forum, then in the 800s moved to Santa Maria Nova, now the Basilica of Santa Francesca Romana in the Roman Forum, painted over 1200s, uncovered 1950. MADONNA DI SAN SISTO in Rome, Icon was brought to Rome from Constantinople by 3 brothers on Christ’s orders and given to Santa Maria in Tempulo, moved in 1221 to San Sisto, moved again in 1575 to Santi Domenico e Sisto, then in 1931 moved to Santa Maria del Rosario a Monte Mario.  It is now known as Madonna del Rosario a Monte Mario. SALUS POPULI ROMANI, meaning Health of the Roman People, Icon was painted on a cedar tabletop made by the young Jesus, moved by St. Helena from Jerusalem to Constantinople or Rome, in La Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, where Gregory the Great had i...