Last year I shot a photo of the beginning of Holy Mass beginning at S. Maria Nova, on the Roman Forum, where the mortal remains of S. Francesca Romana are venerated.
Nice vestments, no?
This year, my friend John Sonnen, formerly also of St. Agnes in St. Paul, got a closer view.
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Theft has never been a particularly tempting sin for me but, I must confess, Father, that I would like to know how I could lift those vestments. They are truly splendid. Normally, I don’t get much worked up about the beauty of the vestments and that sort of thing. This is an exception. This strike such a contrast with the usual vestments seen in the N.O. temples.
P.K.T.P.
Bill: You and others will pick until I stop wanting to post.
Saint Frances of Rome, aka Santa Maria Nova: Another grand Roman church. Don’t forget the mosaics in the apse, perhaps by the same workshop that did the mosaics in San Clemente and Santa Maria in Trastevere. Even though the mosaics are from the 12 C, they present Our Lady as a Byzantine princess — and thus looking back to an earlier style. And ask the minder to let you in the sacristy, where to be venerated is perhaps the oldest panel painting whatsoever, of the Virgin and Child. It was found on the back of the icon that you see above the altar in the photograph. The body of St. Frances herself, in the crypt below the High Altar, is a bit too macabre for my tastes.
Beautiful Vestemens. Maybe when I become ordained I can get some like those.
Father, I apologize for the comment. It was made with a smile and in good humor, which unfortunately didn’t come through. Since I don’t seem to be able to post without giving offense, I will add your weblog to those where I no longer comment, out of respect and as penance. I wish you well.
Bill: No need for that. I saw that someone had jumped on your comment with sharped talons, after having determined to interpret it in a negative way. So, I deleted both his comment and yours so that this thread wouldn’t devolve. You are welcome here, of course.
Thanks for the photos. Every time I’ve walked up that steep incline of stairs, cobblestones, and gravel in order to try to see the inside of that church it seems it has always been locked up (regardless of the hours it advertises to reportedly be open).
Fr Jay
For a while Santa Maria Nova/Santa Francesa Romana was being repaired and restored. From 1998 to 2006, I found it open, and I found it closed 2007.
True enough, the hours when Roman churches are open can sometimes be a mystery.