The Northwestern standard., 1886-04-10
ROME and IT'S HOLY PLACES,
An American Pilgrim On Sacred Soil AT
the Tomb Of the Apostles Peter
and Paul.

the Tomb Of the Apostles Peter
and Paul.
CHAPEL OF THE CONFESSION.
Whittier Pope Leo Goes to Pray, When
the Long Weary Day, With its Labors
and its Anxieties, is Over"
Rome, says Rev. DR.. O'Reilly in his
latest letter to the New Y YOrk Sun. is a
sacred soil, not to the silly-minded
crowd who yearly flock hither, guide
book in hand, to do Rome in q week,
or to the cold critic or the bigot, who
have no difficulty in believing that the
Castor and Pollux with the bronze
horses on the Quirinal are the work Of
Praxiteles !; but who will cast aside as
unworthy OF serious consid alton the
unanimous and unbroken testimony Of
all ages, FROM that of ST. IrenBus-
A. ID. 1SOLrelative to the imprison-
ment. the trial, the marty rdom and bur
ial here in Rome of the two great apos
ties. The other day I met with the
journal Of an English tours in Italy
fair-minded enough on the Wo1e, but
who secuted the whole tradition re-
specting the apostles, because their bod
les ere said ito repose both in St. Pauls
outside the walls, and i'll the crypt OF
st. PETERS. Any well-informed person
could have told this fippant writer
that the carefully preserved traditions
of the Roman church say that st.
Peter was first buried on the Janiculum,
near the scene of his crucifixion, and
that St. Paul was buried on the Ostian
road, at the place of his martyrdom,
and where now arises the magnificent
church called after him. st. Gregory
the Great tells us that they were taken
from their resting place and buried to-
.gether in the catacombs of St. Sebas-
titan. This is entirely in accordance with
what the most ancient Roman calendar
4 published by Bucherius, states, namely
4 that their solemn festival was held at
| these catacombs ON June % of each
| year, the day Of their marty rdom, ac-
cording to Eusebius, the most ancient
church historian, After Constantine's
edict Of freedom OF conscience, the re-
mains Of st. Paul were brought back
to their former burial place on the Os-
|.tian. Way, and those Of ST, Peter were
buried On the Vatican Hill, on that
part of the Circus of Nero where he
had SO cruelty tortured and put to
death many Christians, as Tacitus
mentions. This spot, on which so much
Christian blood flowed, the theatre OF
SO much supernatural heroism, was the
fttest place in which the two men who
had withstood the tyrant, and upbraid-
ed him to his face with his cruelty and
monstrous vices, should forever repose
together till the resurrection dawn. In
| after years one-half the body Of st. Peter
was taken to st. Paul's, and buried by
the side Of his glorious companion; and
one-half the body of st. Paul was taken
from his tomb and buried in the Vati-
can by the side of st. Peter. The heads
of both apostles are in st. John Later
an, the Cathedral of Rome, and the
church first in dignity of the Catholic
world. The spot beneath the dome Of
st. Peters where the relics Of the
martyr apostles repose in death has
been for more than eighteen centuries
the center and the heart of the Christ
ian world. Formerly, and before the
erection Of the present sublime church
ediice, the only entrance to the crypt,
with it's .grottoes'' Or catacombs, was
from the floor above, and through the
stairways around which the nlnety-six
lamps burn day aud night. | shalt now
invite the reader with me to early mass
in the subterranean chapel of the con-
fession. 1t is impossible to convey by
any mere description any idea of the
impressiveness Of the interior Of St.
Peters, either at evening, just as the
sun is setting behind the ridge crowned
by the Vatican or the Janiculnm, or at
dawn, when the first splendors Of morn
ing stream across Rome from the east
ern mountains, and food the palace of
the Popes and the towering mass of st.
Peters with their golden radiance.
The silence, the yastness, the harmon
lied magni6cence of the place, the soar
ing dome. with its rank upon rank Of
heavenly images, and the soft igh
Of which to the interior sense is like 3
fragrance Of all blended sweetness all
combine to make the soul fancy it is
standing at the portal of heaven. Fol-
low us, the sacristan and the priest,
down the dark, winding stair. 1t is
situated within the great pillar nearest
to the apse on your left as you come up
the nave. We are soon at the bottom.
The light penetrating from the nave
overhead and the lamps lit here enable
us to discern everything distinctly.
We pass by the little Chapel OF St.
Veronica at the foot Of the circular
a6 ~ efaS Sf.N