ROME 23/10 – Day 26: Walking in deepest darkest Trastevere

The sun rose at 07:33 and will set, hopefully on a lovely Roman October day, at 18:15.   The Ave Maria Bell is in the 18:30 cycle.  

The “Ave Maria” indicates the change of the religious day from day to night.

The Ave Maria is rung “half an hour” after sunset. If the Ave Maria is rung at 1830, as it is from 22 Oct-4 Nov, then 1730 is 23rd hour of the day and 1930 is the 1st hour of the next day.

When there were large religious communities in Roman churches and chapters of canons, Vespers would be sung an hour before the Ave Maria Bell. Today, for example, they would be sung at 1730.  However, in the Roman Curia, Cardinals and other officials would still receive people in audience for the hour after the Ave Maria Bell rang. An hour after the Ave Maria, a single bell would toll, thus ending all business for the day, since it was the first hour of night.

Thus, the Roman Ave Maria Bell.

It is the Feast of Pope St. Evaristus.   I said a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit today.   It was a real pleasure to see all the sides altars in church filled with red vestments.  Red which you made happen.

Today in my prayers after Mass this one struck me with force:

Da nobis, quaesumus, Dómine, vitiórum nostrórum flammas exstínguere: qui beáto Lauréntio tribuísti tormentórum suórum incéndia superáre. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. R. Amen.

With this morning, I finished my ad hoc Mass intentions.  However, I do recall in my visits to churches, especially where there are the bodies of saints, what you donor have asked me to raise up in prayers.  I would ask you, also, for something: the miraculous healing of a friend, Giancarlo, suffering from a dreadful malady.  Pray for sudden, complete and lasting healing through the intercession of Bl. Luigi Maria Monti.  Invoke him explicitly and often.

Yesterday afternoon I had a walk into deepest darkest Trastevere to see the streets where a couple of possible apartments are.  I don’t really want to be on that side of the river, but it a great place shows up… hey.

Into San Crisogono.

Lovely cosmateque work.

Bl. Anna Maria Tiagi is here.

This church is under the Trinitarians.  They were the originators of the Gesù Nazareno devotion I showed you from the other day.

From Ss. Trinità the other day.

I found here, to my astonishment, a copy of Murillo’s Earthly and Heavenly Trinities.

Some of you long-time readers know that I have a high def reproduction, beautifully framed (thank you) in my chapel above the altar.

The bells of S.  Crisogono as I walk out.

A street of one possible apartment.

I would like to have gotten a photo of all the altars busy with red bedecked priests.

Here’s a bit of an eccentricity.  Unless I am mistaken, and this is the biretta of some institute or other, it is an academic biretta, not for liturgical use.