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 Pops Leo Goes to Pray, When
i the Long " Weary Day, With its Labors
i and its Anxieties, is Over.
i Rome, says Rev. DR.. O'Reilly in his
latest letter to the New York Sun, is a
sacred soil, not to the silly-ninded
crowd who yearly flock hither. guide
book in hand, to ssdo Rome III a 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 consideration the
unanimous and unbroken testimony Of
ali ages, from that OF st. Irenaus-
A. ID. lS0-relative to the imprison-
4 nent, the trial, the martyrdom and bur
ial here in Rome OF the two great apos-
ties. The other day met with the
journal Of an English tours in Italy
fair minded enough on the wole, but
who secuted the whole tradition re-
specting the apostles, because their bod
les ere said to repose both In St. Paul7s
outside the walls, and in the crypt Of
St. Peters. ANY weli-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 Janlculum,
near the scene of his crucitixion. and
that st. Paul was buried on the Ostian
road, at the place of his martyrdotn,
and where now arises the magnificent
church called after him. st. Gregory
the Great tells us that they were taken
1 from their resting-place and buried to-
gether in the cataoombs of St. Sebas-
tian. This is entirely in accordance with
what the most ancient Roman calendar,
| published by Bueherius, states, namely,
that their solemn festival was held at
| these catacombs ON June 20 of each
year, the day Of their martyrdom, 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 0s-
.ttian 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
50 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. Paul7s, 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
edifce, the only entrance TO the crypt,
with its ''grottoeso or ca5acombs, was
from the floor above, and through the
stairWays around which the nlnety-six
lamps burn day and night. shall 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
impresSiyeness of the interior of st.
Peters, either at evening, just as the
sun is setting behind the ridge crowned
by the Vatican or the Janiculum, 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 magnIicence Of the place, the soar
ing dome. with It's rank upon rank Of I
heavenly images, and the soft Hgh
of which to the interior sense is like a /
fragrance Of all-blended sweetness all |
combine to make the soul fancy it is |
standing at the portal of heaven. Fol |
low us, the sacristaa 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 I
overhead and the lamps lit here enable
as to discern everything distinctly. |
We pass by the little Chapel of St. [
Veronica at the foot of the circular
.