On Sunday I set out for a pilgrimage to the site where St. Ignatius and his companions took their final vows-- St. Paul's Outside the Walls. This is appropriate as I am in tertianship preparing myself to do the same think. I suspect Ignatius walked or took a cab (he had companions with whom to split the fare) but I opted for the 23 bus-- I did stand most of the way. At the Basilica I went to confession and Mass and prayed in the Chapel where Ignatius took his vows before a mosaic icon of Mary and Christ. The original basilica burned to the ground in the nineteenth century but this icon was preserved. I then got on the bus and went back to the Curia. It was just below freezing and I'm not at all used to the cold....

What's amazing is that I was at the Church and went to Mass there in 1974 before I entered the Society. I had no idea of the significance of the structure for the Society. I do remember that I was at the Church in the late afternoon and the low sun shining of the facade made the mosaics look like a sheet of gold-- it was astounding. I was at the Church too early and the sun had not begun to shine on the facade before I left.

Here are some pictures of the Basilica for you to enjoy-- Rome is hard on a digital camera as most architecture consists in straight lines and these cameras have a weakness for skewing straight lines!!