Nostra Signora di Czestochowa

I am "bird walking" around Rome this week, seeking out modern churches. My first journey took me to the Tor Sapienza Zone, about 12 km from the center of Rome. Here I found the Benedictine parish church of Nostra Signora di Czestochowa sitting in the middle of a busy intersection  It was designed in 1970-71 by Alberto and Gianfranco Tonelli.

The church is a trapezoid box that dominates the intersection. It seems to be floating above the roadways because the structure rests on an opaque-blue glass base. With the wide sliding doors open, the church almost invites the traffic to come inside.

It was disappointing to encounter a plump statue of Padre Pio

outside the door before I entered the church.

But when one does walk in off the street, the world changes. The interior is illuminated with natural light filtered through a band of windows near the coffered concrete ceiling. The eyes are drawn over the large altar table to the stained glass on the rear wall, framing the tabernacle.

The altar platform is positioned in a way way that is in the midst of the nave and the people who gather to celebrate the Eucharist.

The scale of the building and the furnishings are massive. One cannot reach across the altar.

The spherical baptismal font reminded me of the cauldron hanging in the fireplace of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house. 

There is a side chapel on the left side of the church

with an icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Church of San Corbiniano

This week I have set off to explore some modern churches in Rome. I was looking for the Church of San Guglielmo designed by Umberto Riva. (I had seen a design for the church in Roma - Nuova Architettura by Sebastiano Brandolini.) By the time the church was consecrated one year ago (March 2011) the name had been changed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Church of San Corbiniano. Corbiniano (670-730) was the saint who founded the Pope's home diocese of Freising.

The church is in a new residential neighborhood of Rome, about 20 km from the Coliseum, off the Via Cristoforo Columbo. The church is a sprawling complex that culminates in the Sanctuary with parish recreational facilities behind it.

The nave of the church is an open, light-filled space, that seems almost "sculpted" in concrete, with glass, steel and wood. It is a very practical, welcoming and comfortable space for community celebrations.

The sloping ceiling is at first sight overpowering, but as you enter, the weight gives way to a sanctuary that is flooded with light from high windows.

The furnishings are minimal. A bronze baptismal font sits appropriately in the front of the church. A contemporary and realistic crucifix dominates the altar area.

On the left side of the nave is a chapel for the  reservation of the Eucharist. (On the day of my visit, several parishioners were praying in adoration.)

I spoke with a newly ordained priest from Trento who is part of the parish staff. (He is actually in exile from the Neocatechumenal Way seminary that was closed by the bishop of Japan. He was ordained here in Rome and hopes one day to be able to return to Japan.) The priest was enthusiastic about the growth of this new parish, incorporating people of all ages. He was proud of their a men's group called the "Bears of San Corbiniano."

Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata Concezione

The Church of Santa Maria Immacolata Concezione was built in the early 17th century by Cardinal Antonio Barberini, a Capuchin Franciscan and brother of Pope Urbano VIII. It was designed by the papal architect and Franciscan Friar Michele da Bergamo

You get to the front door from the Via Veneto

by ascending a scissor-shaped staircase.

Typical of Capucin churches, there are no architectural side aisles.

A main attraction to visitors is the crypt with the exhumed bones of long dead friars arranged in "artistic" ways. However there are several interesting tombs and memorials in the "upstairs" church.

This is the tomb of the Polish Prince Alexander Sobieski.

The shrine to the 20th Centruy Capucin Saint

Padre Pio is in the front of the church.

The tomb of the first Capucin saint.

Felix of Cantalice died in 1587.

This is a detail of a relief carved by A. Bisetti in 1853.

A "Barbarini Bee" can be seen

under the Holy Water font.

Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi

In 1948 an order of priests called the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament bought the Villa Massimo and grounds near Piazza Bologna for their international headquarters. The Catholic Diocese of Rome asked the priests to include a church building that would be open to the public for adoration of the Eucharist. At the same time an idea developed to also make this church the Canadian National Church, dedicated to the Canadian Martyrs, 17th century Jesuit missionaries who were killed by Mohawk Indians.
Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi was designed by Bruno Apolloni Ghetti and completed in 1955. The exterior of the church is an imposing rectangle, set half a block down a side artery from the main street in the neighborhood.

It is said that the architect had in mind the giant pines of Canada's forests. A series of tapering concrete arches form the nave and lead the eye to a towering canopy over the tabernacle against a wall flooded in natural night.

The canopy is decorated with reliefs in painted and glazed terracotta, designed by Angelo Biancini.

The pulpit has terracotta images of the Last Supper and the Madonna.

The Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament were founded in 1856 by Saint Pierre-Julien Eymard in France. Today, following in the footsteps of their Founder, their mission is to respond to the hungers of the human family with the riches of God's love manifested in the Eucharist. (Rule of Life n. 3) Today this church is open for adoration to all who want enter.

Question: Why is there a mosaic

of a raccoon on the facade of the church?

Thanks to John Thomas Lane, SSS, for encouraging me to visit this church of his order.

Quo Vadis: Church and Novel

This past weekend I stopped to see a small church on the Via Appia Antica known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis. (In Italian it is named Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Piante, or in Latin Sanctae Maria in Palmis.) It is located on the spot where legend says Saint Peter had a vision of the risen Christ while fleeing persecution in Rome.

According to the tradition, Peter asked Jesus: "Domine, quo vadis? - Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus answered: "Eo Romam iterum crucifigi - I go to Rome to be crucified anew."
This convinced Peter to turn around and face martyrdom in Rome. The church markes the legendary spot where this meeting of St. Peter and Jesus took place.The first church on this site was built in the 9th century. The present building dates from the 17th century. The limited decoration and ornamentation inside is an interesting mix of items and styles. In the center of the floor is a marble slab with two footprints (being a copy of the original that is now preserved in the Basilica of San Sebastiano down the road) that people believe were a miraculous sign left by Jesus when he met Peter.

When your eyes look to the left, there is a modern column with a bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Polish author of the historical fiction novel Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero. It is said that Sienkiewicz was inspired to write his novel while sitting in this church. A painting of St. Peter seems to be looking at the author. (Quo Vadis has been made into a movie several times. The first was in 1951 and the most recent film version was in 2001.)

Above the altar is a sensitive fresco of the Madonna.

To the left of the altar is a painting of Peter's crucifixion.

On the right near the altar is a strange devotional case

set in the wall with a statue collection and plastic flowers.

Lenten Journey Week 3: Palatino

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It is between the Roman and the Circus Maximus. (It is the origin of the word "palace".) According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf. During the Roman Republic many wealthy Romans had their residences there. During the Empire (27 BC – 476 AD) it was home to several emperors, including Augustus, Tiberius and Domition.

Santa Anastasia: In the late 3rd or early 4th century a church was built on the Palatine Hill. It was one of the first parish churches of ancient Rome, given by a woman called Anastasia and later dedicated to a martyr of the same name. Parts of the 4th century church, as well as parts from the rebuilding in the 6th century, are preserved. It was the official church of representatives of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire who resided on the Palatine.
Santa Anastasia was restored several times over the centuries. The present church is the result of 17th and 18th century rebuilding.
The current façade dates from the 17th century and is the work of L. Arrigucci, a student of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The previous façade was destroyed by a whirlwind in 1638. Underneath the church are the ruins of an ancient portico from the 1st century AD, as well as ruins of a group of insulae (multi-storied dwellings), that provided shops and services for the nearby Circus Maximus.
When I was a child, this Basilica of Santa Anastasia was the titular church of our archbishop, James Francis Cardinal McIntyre of Los Angeles. The first titular priest of the church was St Jerome who died in 420. (He was never actually a cardinal; he was given the title posthumously in the 13th century, and assigned to this church because of the tradition that he celebrated Mass here.) The present titular priest is Godfried Daneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, who was appointed in 1983.
The nave uses ancient columns that were in the earlier church buildings on the site.
The ceiling is frescoed with a martyrdom of the saints (1722) by Michelangelo Cerruti.
Beneath the high altar is a statue of St Anastasia by Ercole Ferrata, in a style of Bernini.
The church has perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a side chapel, and is therefore open 24 hours a day.

Reflection

The Gospel for the 3rd Sunday in Lent recounts the parable of the fig tree. The owner of an orchard is ready to cut down a fig tree that is not producing fruit. The gardner replies: "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. It may bear fruit in the future." For nearly 2,000 years this site has been a place of prayer. And today, people are praying here 24 hours a day. It was interesting to look at the organizational calendar for this round-the-clock prayer vigil. There are at least two people all of the time. I wish that my life could be better organized. There are many wasted moments during each day. May I "cultivate and fertilize" my days (and prune away the unnecessary activities) so that my life may produce better "fruit."

Prayer

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves

to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
From The Book of Common Prayer

Lenten Journey: Week 1 - Esquelino

My Lenten Journey has brought me to a “gritty” neighborhood on the Esquiline Hill, the largest of the seven hills of Ancient Rome. In Imperial times this part of the hill was used for dumping garbage and burial pits for the poor. On the opposite side of the hill, the Emperor Nero built his Domus Aurea, the Golden House. When I tried to find out the origin of the name of the hill, I discovered that in the early years of Rome the Capitol, Palitine and Caelian hills were the most populated areas of the city and the inhabitants were called “inquilini, in-towners”. People who lived in the external regions of the city were called “exquilini, suburbanites”.

My destination was the church of Santa Bibiana. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was 23 years old and living in this neighborhood when Pope Urban VIII gave him his first commission, the reconstruction of the 5th century church on this site.
I was not sure that I would find the church open as I approached it. The structure is marooned between the tracks of Stazione Termini and two tram tracks and the side is covered with graffiti. I had to stop and filter out the distractions of the neighborhood to appreciate the beauty of the façade. Three elegant arches provide entry into the portico, and dignified columns and three windows define the second level. All of this is surmounted by a pediment and cross making almost a thirst level above the central arch and front door to the church. The church was open, but when I entered I had to stop again and filter out distractions. The interior is cluttered with many objects of pious devotion.

A statue of Padre Pio resides in a chapel opposite a chapel

with a statue of the Blessed Mother and her halo of stars.

There were many other statues and candle stands scattered around the interior. However, this 75 seat church seems to be home to an active Christian community. While I was in the church people were coming in to prepare for a time of Eucharist adoration. The bulletin board gave evidence to a wide range of events for growing in faith. (This week’s schedule includes community prayer times as well as catechetical instruction for children and adults.)
The main altar and statue of Santa Bibiana are by Bernini. (The bodies of St Bibiana, her mother Dafrosa and her sister Demetria where discovered inside a 3rd century sarcophagus, and now rest inside an urn under the altar.)
The antique columns of the nave were taken from different ancient monuments when the 5th century church was built. Above the nave are 17th century frescoes showing the life and death (4th century) of Bibiana by the Florentine painter Agostino Ciampelli and Piero da Cortona.
There is a plaque under the portico that memorializes thousands of bodies that were found on the site during various excavations, evidence that this side of the Esqueline Hill was, in fact, a burial ground.

Reflection
The Sunday Gospel this week is Luke's account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The devil tried to distract Jesus with three different situations to prevent him from fulfilling his mission. Things around me often get me distracted from what I am supposed to do. Just as I had to stop and filter out distractions to see the wonderful things in the Church of Santa Bibiana, I need to continually remind myself to stop and filter out the many distractions that interrupt my ability to appreciate the goodness of God and to experience the full joy of human life.

Collect for the First Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be
tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted
by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of
each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
from The Book of Common Prayer