Fr Liam Power: Reflections on a Pilgrimage to Rome

I have just returned from a pilgrimage to Rome accompanied by 20 parishioners and 10 guests, a group of 30 in all. 

The director of the pilgrimage, Kieran Troy, had every detail planned to perfection and I believe every one of the pilgrims really enjoyed the experience and found it to be very spiritually uplifting. 

Pilgrimage reminds us of how important it is to slow down, and take life one step at time. It reminds us that life is an emotional and spiritual journey that requires reconditioning at times. It helps us to rediscover our dependence and trust in the loving God.

Immersed in the Christian culture and history of Rome, visiting the great Catholic basilicas, including St Peter’s, St Mary Major, and St John Lateran, a spirit of gratitude filled our hearts as we reflected on the great gift of faith that Christianity brought to the world. The magnificent faith-inspired works of works of art and architecture resulted from the Christian imagination of great artists. Works of Michelangelo, Bernini, and a host of other artists and architects evoked a deep sense of wonder and awe at the grandeur, the beauty, and the sheer magnificence of the historic tradition.

Our faith in the transcendental source of such beauty, the God of Jesus Christ, was renewed. We felt called into the warmth and wonder of an eternal embrace. We were reminded of the oft-times forgotten grandeur of life and our sense of life and world as a gift renewed. 

Above all, we were led to a deeper appreciation of Christianity’s contribution to our civilisation.

Throughout the pilgrimage, the Christian civilisation was juxtaposed with that of ancient Rome. We passed by the mausoleum of the Emperor Caesar Octavian Augustus, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon. Historians argue that Caesar is the greatest political leader the world has known. He is mentioned in St Luke's Gospel for initiating the census that prompted the holy family’s trip to Bethlehem. 

The birth of Christ happens during the 42nd year of his reign; we are told in the Gospel that the whole world was at peace. However, it was not a just peace.

Caesar Augustus came to power by ruthlessly murdering opponents. He returned to Rome after defeating Antony and Cleopatra in a bloody civil war. He installed himself as the first citizen, and defender of the city’s republican tradition, but defended it without any checks and balances other than his will. He was to be worshipped as a god. Pagan Rome was cruel and oppressive.

The Christian worldview was so radically different that the early Christians were regarded as a threat to the pagan empire. Hundreds of thousands were martyred. 

The Colosseum is of course the iconic symbol of Roman brutality, where Christians were thrown to the lions for the entertainment of Roman citizens.

We found the visit to the catacombs of St Callixtus, the burial ground of Christians from the second century till the fifth century, to be deeply moving. Here is the burial place of over one hundred thousand Christians, martyred for the faith.

As I said, Emperors were threatened by the Christian world-view. Christians worshipped the one true God, refusing to acknowledge the emperor as divine, thus also relativising the empire. Christians promoted a Gospel of love and mercy and respect for all. The most vulnerable were to be protected, inverting the imperial concept of power.

Theologians and some journalists, like Louise Perry, are wondering if we are repaganizing? 

As the extreme right is gaining more support in many Western countries we see attitudes shifting from a society that sees every human life as sacred to one in which the strong can exercise dominance over the weak. This is just like Roman times.

My fellow pilgrims and I reflected on where our allegiance lay as we celebrated Mass in the parish church in Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the pope, on Sunday, the feast of Christ the King. The feast was introduced into the liturgical calendar in the year 1925 by Pope Pius XI. The symbol of the kingship of Christ may come across as out of touch with our modern democratic sensibilities but in reality it has nothing to do with crowns or palaces or with thrones.

Pope Pius challenges us to identify to whom we give our allegiance; where ultimately does our heart lie, to whom do we truly belong? Pius introduced this feast at a time when Europe was still recovering from the horrors of the First World War. Peace in Europe was once again being threatened by the rise of the Nazi party under Hitler in Germany. 

In Italy, fascism was gaining ground as Mussolini was parading arrogantly around the country. Both Hitler and Mussolini were claiming the absolute, God-like allegiance of citizens. Dissent was cruelly suppressed.

For Christians, the Kingdom of God is of a higher order, in the world but not of the world: a Kingdom of love, justice, peace, where the rights of all are respected. Our allegiance is to the person of Christ, and we are to act in accordance with these higher principles.