The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-01-04
LATE ARCHBISHOP IRELAND
GAVE INTERESTING VIEW OF
PERSONS AND OBJECTS IN
HOLY CITY.

1.-THE Catholic Bulletin prints on this
on variety of subjects delivered by
the late Archbishop Ireland to his
students at ST. Paul Seminary. The
series is copyrighted by the San Fran
cisco Monitor.]
A TRIP TO ROME.
1t is difficult to tell you much about
Rome in one talk. 1t is hard to know
which one out of a thousand subjects
to select The railroad conductor calls
out Genoa, Pisa, ETC., but at Rome ia
Citta," the city. Before you approach
Rome the Campagna extends around
the city for about thirty miles. 1t is
dry grazing land for cattle, with no
houses of any pretensions to attract
attention. The long stretches of trav-
bear the superstructures of aqueducts.
Some have been reconstructed and
carry water from the Sabine hills into
Rome. Then you see in the distance,
as you approach the city on the train,
the Tiber. Your imagination pictures
the "favus Tiber" of Horace. But
when you come near, it is very yellow,
and below Rome, after receiving all
the sewerage, is dirty and very unlike
our clear Mississippi. 1t requires all
your imagination to picture it as it
was in the days of the Roman kings,
crowded with galleys and spanned by
many noble bridges.
AS you come nearer on the train an
immense pile meets your gaze. 1t is
the Church of st. Paul extra muros' -
Nearby is the Church of st. John Lat
cram Then the train enters Rome
through break in the wall and the
conductor cries out, La Citta,' the
city.
Here you are at last in Rome When
you step from the cars you do not
feel that you are on ordinary ground.
You are walking on the air. Rome!
There is magic in the name Well has
it been called the Eternal City AL
mighty God in His Providence has
seen fit to place there the central gov
eminent of His Church, and the city,
like the Church, is immortal.
Every educated man ought to visit
Rome. You must do so prepared, how
ever. A French priest told me he was
going to Rome, but not for two years,
because he needed that time to pre-
pare. You must bring with you gifts
of imagination and poetical tempera.
ment before you will have the ability
to see and study Rome. Many people
go there and see nothing. They lack
preparation because they are ignorant
of the past history of Rome. They
lack the ability or power of imagin-
alton to reconstruct the past. These
old ruins speak eloquently and bring
how to read them.
Rome and Chicago.
There are many Romes-Republican
Rome, the Rome OF the Emperors
Christian Rome, Medieval Rome and
Modern Rome. There is Rome pagan
and Rome Christian, monumental
Rome, artistic Rome, ecclesiastical
Rome. You must know your secular
and Church history to begin to appre
ciate it.
A citizen of Chicago was being
shown about the city by a Roman
friend, who pointed out to him the
great castle of San Angelo.
why, our waterworks in Chicago
beat that" he said.
When shown one of the magnificent
palaces he only answered.:
Potter Palmer's mansion on Mich.
igan avenue throws that in the
shade"
Finally, when shown the Coliseum
and asked if Chicago had anything like
that, he answered:
mo, but we would have if it paid >
| have visited Rome many times
and the streets are as familiar to me
as those of ST. Paul. / didn't see much
of monumental Rome this time $4,000
as | was too busy. | only visited few
monuments. One was the ruins of the
church in which st. Gregory the Great
preached. 1t is four or five miles out
churches of those days were, surpris,
ingly enough, very small. This one
was covered with debris and had a
vineyard growing over it. The roof
had fallen in and some of the walls
had worn away, but now it is being
restored. You can see there the foln
dation of the altar Then the priest
faced the people in Offering the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass. There are still
to be seen the carved marble seats
on which the priests and st. Gregory
sat.
The only other monument | went tC
see was one which had just been un
earthed-the we'll of Castor and Pollu2
in the Forum, nearby which was the
statue of Mercury, the god of health
The Archaeological Commission in
Rome is buying up the houses on the
Forum and widening it. This fine
was made under a church which hat
been confiscated. At that time / re
member some of the Catholic papers
made a great howl. about the church
being condemned and called it sac
rilege. | made special inquiries about
the matter, and discovered that The
Vicar-General of Rome had first beer