The Saint Benedict Education Foundation Ash Wednesday pilgrimage took place in Rome during the week from Sunday, February 3rd until Sunday February 10th. Those making the trip experienced an event-filled week in which we visited the four Patriarchal Basilicas of Rome Saint Peter's, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Saint Mary Major, and Saint John Lateran, and other sites within Rome such as the Basilica of the Holy Cross, the Coliseum, and the Vatican Museum. Beyond the busy streets of Rome the pilgrims found some peace and spiritual refreshment at Subiaco, the first monastery founded by Saint Benedict (c. 497), and at Monte Cassino, where Saint Benedict lived the remainder of his life and died in the year 480AD.

Our itinerary began on Monday, when we set out for the cathedral of Rome: the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. After paying a visit to this beautiful house of worship, with its fourth-century baptistry, we stopped to see the Coliseum before continuing to the church of Saint Peter in Chains, where the chains which bound Peter during his time in the Mamertine prison are preserved, and where one can find Michaelangelo's masterpiece sculpture "Moses". A late winter rain storm did not dampen our enjoyment of lunch at "da Roberto", nor our excitement over a tour of the fascinating excavations beneath Saint Peter's Basilica, where the remains of the ancient tomb of the Apostle are still visible.

On Tuesday we were graciously received by Abbot Edmund Power of the Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which has been home to a Benedictine community since the 8th century. After mass at the Basilica, Abbot Edmund joined us for lunch, and saw us on our way to the Basilica of the Holy Cross, where the group visited the reliquary chapel containing a fragment of the cross brought to Rome by Saint Helen in the fourth century. We then proceeded to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on top of the Esquiline Hill, the oldest church in Rome dedicated to Mary. After some time for relaxation, we regrouped and went to "Abruzzi" a popular culinary destination in the heart of Rome for decades. On Ash Wednesday our group toured the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant' Anselmo, to which the Saint Benedict Education Foundaton directs its development efforts. We visited the classroom area, noting the construction which is underway in the main part of the cloister of the Athenaeum, and joined the monastic community for a lunch in monastic style we ate in silence! The afternoon of Ash Wednesday was highlighted by the arrival at Sant' Anslemo of Pope Benedict XVI, who visits the Benedictine University in Rome each year to inaugurate the season of Lent with a prayer service at Sant' Anselmo, followed by the celebration of the mass at the nearby Basilica of Santa Sabina.

Thursday saw the group off to Subiaco in the hills outside of Rome. There we visited the "Sacro Speco" the cave where Saint Benedict lived for several years before establishing a monastic community at the site, which exists to this day. On Friday we turned south, and traveled to Monte Cassino to celebrate mass at the tomb of Saint Benedict, and to visit the monastery where he spent the last decades of his life. Time was set aside as well during the week for a tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter's Basilica, where we were guided through the excavations beneath the crypt of the church, and later celebrated mass together at the Clementine Altar, directly over the tomb of Saint Peter.

On the final day of the pilgrimage some folks traveled to Assissi, while others enjoyed some rest in Rome, before we joined together once again for mass in the Chapel of Saint Catherine of Siena in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and for a farewell dinner near the Pantheon. In all, the Saint Benedict Education Foundation Ash Wednesday pilgrimage provided an opportunity for those interested in the Benedictine University in Rome to see Sant' Anselmo first hand, and to find spiritual refreshment at the same time.

In Christ's Love,

Edward Mazich, O.S.B., President Saint Benedict Education Foundation, March 2008