Tuesday's adventure began with a visit to St. Paul's Within The Walls, probably the most well-known Episcopal Church in Rome. The church was built in 1873, using architectural designs created by George Edmund Street, and it stands today hidden in the shadow of the Teatro della Opera. We included this shot because it reflected the neighborhood around the church.
The beautiful mosaics in the church were designed by British artists Sir Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, as well as the American artist George Breck. This picture shows just part of the mural that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
The stained glass windows around the church are amazingly gorgeous. From the right side to the left side of the church, they tell the story of St. Paul. This window shows the martyrdom of St. Paul, with his death by beheading at the Tre Fontane. So why were the fans there? Well, as luck would have it, we came to the church just as it was being prepared for a wedding that afternoon. We eventually snuck out of the church while they were photographing the bride and the groom.
Our next stop was the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. The front of the church is undergoing construction (and apparently has been for a while), so we had to enter through the side entrance, which Alyson stands before in the picture. Continuing the Angels and Demons theme from Sunday, this church was what Dan Brown used as the Fire-based Altar of Science.
The inside of the sanctuary is beautifully decorated with many religious images, focused mainly on the Virgin Mary. The church originally started as a church dedicated to St. Paul, but it was changed to the Virgin Mary in 1620 after the Catholic victory at the Battle of White Mountain. The church contains works by such artists as Bernini, Guercino, and Domenichino. This picture shows a minor statue of the Virgin Mary.
We then trekked across the city to the Anglican Centre for a 12:45 PM Eucharist service and luncheon. The Centre was founded in 1966 to build communications between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Community, following a landmark meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey. The Centre is located on the second floor of a museum and is rather difficult to find. This photograph represents the first image of the Centre as you walk in: a massive library of Anglican religious literature.
Here is a picture of the sanctuary inside the Anglican Centre. There was about 20 attendees at the service (including us), and there was a nice lunch afterwards where we got to talk with the ìregulars.î The crowd was a mixture of retired Americans, foreign college students studying in Rome, and newly transplanted Americans. I donít think they see a lot of pilgrimages coming through. B)
After lunch, we worked our way back to the Trevi Fountain area, snapping photographs of fountains along the way, and stopped by The Pontifical North American College, which houses a number of Roman Catholic priests from the United States who are studying in Rome. It was here that we picked up our tickets for the Papal General Audience for Wednesday.
We will let you know how that goes in our next update.
