It was a great 5-mile tour visiting great churches and historical sites. Enjoy the maps, pictures and videos. Hope you love Jesus and the Church more as a result.
Remember that Rome has over 800 churches and we cannot visit them all in one walking tour :-)
Two Videos: 1) Short Biography of St. Paul from the Place he was Martyred; 2) a Tour of the Sites of St. Paul’s Last Days. Enjoy!
Steve gave a short biography of St. Paul at Tre Fontone where St. Paul was beheaded. This will give you a short introduction to St. Paul and his life from the very place where he was beheaded.
First we went to Tre Fontane where he was beheaded, then to St. Paul Outside the Walls where he is buried. I took my video camera along so you could join us. Hope this helps you better celebrate the Year of St. Paul. Enjoy!
To see our full (and much more professional :-) documentary on St. Paul, click here.
Free Timeline of the Life and Writings of St. Paul
The day started out spectacularly with Mass in St. Peter’s Square with Pope Francis. Our groups was the first in line among tens of thousands or more. So when the gates were opened we rushed in and got the very front seats and great seats they were.
Before the Mass the Pope surprised everyone by driving through the crowds in his uncovered Popemobile so everyone got to see him up close again. Everyone got great pictures and videos, some of which you will see in the videos here. The Mass was to celebrate The Day of Life.
After the Mass many of us went to La Pilotta da Mario for lunch and then scattered with our guides for a walking tour of Rome visiting the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Piazza Navona.
Then we drove out to the Via Appia Antica through the ancient road with catacombs below us. We arrived at Cecilia Metalla for a fantastic dinner outside under the trellises covered with grapevines. During dinner I was the MC and the guides, escorts, John Hale of Corporate Travel, Teresa Tomeo and others gave lasts words and comments.
Then we had our guest speaker Dr. Frank Beckwith share his story of reversion back to the Catholic Church. During his presidency of the Evangelical Theological Society he decided to return to the Catholic Church. It is a great story and he does a great job telling it.
Then we had to say Good-bye as everyone boarded the buses the next morning and headed to the airport to return home. Janet and I were overwhelmed with the kind words, hugs, grateful praises for the trip and promises to join us again on other pilgrimages. It was a very warm but sad morning as we said “Good-bye.”
Great Mass this morning with the Pope and hundreds of thousands of Pro-life people to celebrate Life Sunday. It Was also Harley-Davidson day with thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycles and riders and the pope blessed all their motorcycles. Click on the image below for a cool up-close video.
It was another excellent day with perfect weather and excited pilgrims. We are having an uplifting Week of Life here in Rome. This first video takes you through the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel (clandestinely) and St. Peter’s. It also covers our Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Video 2 with Steve’s talk on [...]
It was just a normal morning — alarm clock, shower, espresso, dress and a saunter down the sidewalk to work. For Paul is was another day with a whole lifetime ahead of him. But today was different. Someone else got up this morning too. They had their coffee dressed and jumped in the car. They [...]
Another banner day! Travestere is a unique and ancient quarter of Rome across the Tiber River. It is where the Jews lived prior to the time of Christ. The first converts in Rome were Judeo-Christians and it was to them that Peter and Paul first visited. We had Mass at Santa Maria in Trastevere which [...]
Italy is beautiful – bella! Today we left the hustle and bustle of Rome and headed out to the countryside. One bus went to Orvieto with Teresa Tomeo, Janet Morana and new priest Fr. Casey. Orvieto is home to an amazing Eucharistic miracle. The other two buses, with me included, along with Fr. Pavone and [...]
General Audience with Pope Francis IMG_2229 Steve Ray’s talks in two churches Visit to St. Paul Outside the Walls, Mass with Fr. Pavone at St. John Lateran, Mother Church of the World and dinner with a Prolife Hero. Fr. Pavone’s Powerful Homily at the Chair of St. [...]
The plane arrived only 30 minutes late which was not bad at all. No luggage lost and quickly through passport control and customs. Our friends the Petersons missed a connection but will join us tomorrow. The weather is great! Rome is full of exciting pilgrims here to see our new Pope Francis. Today we got [...]
Sean Regan proposed marriage to our daughter Emily Ray on the Bridge of the Angels “crossing the Tiber River” with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background. He surprised Janet and I (though we somewhat expected it and have for several years) a few hours before by taking us aside and asking for our daughter’s hand [...]
I love having 11 grandkids (with another on the way and two daughters still to get started!). Nothing Janet and I love more than being married and still madly in love, having four wonderful children and now being grandparents! I often take the grandkids on adventures with our golf cart, driving through the country and [...]
Introducing Joseph, young apologist who’s not just sitting around waiting for “someone else to evangelize”, he’s getting out there and doing it himself. Good work Joseph – the humor is great! Where’d you get that accent? Also check out the website below by and for young people in love with Jesus and his Church! UPDATE: [...]
It was a fun one hour show. You may have to move through the first ten minutes, but the rest is the interview and we had a good time with a lot of excellent discussion. Enjoy!
Sent from Tim Staples: HYPOCRISY IS ALIVE AND WELL: High Fashion in the Mosques That’s OK, just don’t burn or deface the Koran or draw a picture of Mohammed!! Every day shirts like this are mass produced, marketed and sold by street vendors throughout the Middle East and it’s ”Simply OK.” The mass-murder of 9-11 [...]
This week Catholic World Report has a biting article about the recent decision to allow openly gay “youth” to join the “Boy” Scouts. You’ll see why I put these words in quotations marks as you read. Here is an excerpt: The CWR Blog The Invisible Boy We must now pretend that boys are not boys, [...]
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried. — G. K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World (1910)