Funerals and the Fourth of July

Friday we attended the Funeral of Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea.  He was a priest of Greensburg, PA - but had served in the Diplomatic Service for many years - including service as the Apostolic Nuncio in Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Qatar and the Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula from 2001-2005.  Thereafter, he returned to Rome and was a Canon at St. Peter's Basilica.  While here in Rome he also served for a time as the Assessore at the Order - assisting in the time of transition between Cardinal Foley and, then, Archbishop O'Brien.

Funerals at St. Peter's are reverent but to the point.  Archbishop De Andrea died on Wednesday night - his funeral was Friday.  It's a simple casket on the floor with a Gospel book placed upon it.  The Basilica's choir sings.  Mass it at the "Altar of the Chair."  Purple vestments to remind us of the penance yet to be done by many of us - even after death.  

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.  And let perpetual Light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace.  May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

But that same day, we had the opportunity to say: Happy 4th of July!

We were invited to an official diplomatic celebration of the 4th at the Embassy of the United States to the Holy See.  As you can imagine with all that is happening in the world today - security was tight - but the atmosphere in side was very warm!  A Gospel choir singing, Marines in full dress uniform presenting the Colors, the National Anthem, speeches and, of course, FOOD: hot dogs, hamburgers - I even found a veggie burger - YUMMY!  A great way to celebrate the 4th!

Meeting of European Lieutenants

Also this week we had a big meeting at the headquarters of the Order - a meeting of all (less one) of the Lieutenants of Europe.  They came from England and Spain, Germany and Sweden, Russia and (of course) Italy and gathered in Rome to discuss issues of importance to the Order and the local Lieutenancies of the Order.  It is a great opportunity for the local leaders to network and communicate about what they are doing.  It was a great opportunity for me to meet some of the men and women with whom I work so closely in planning Investiture trips.

On Monday evening we had the customary banquet.  But we also had several surprises...

The newly appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem - with whom the Order will work VERY closely - came by for a visit.

Also, several members of the order received a special honor - being named Knights of the Collar.

Lastly, the Russian Lieutenant brought along a gift for His Eminence - a beautiful painting of the domes of Moscow.

Pompei Scavi and Investiture - Part 2

And in this portion of the post - the Investiture - the reason for our trip down south to Pompei.

We stayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei.  I never recognize how this popular image of Our Lady (seen all over the US) is a reflection of the Immigration that took place in the 1800-1900's from Italy (particularly this southern part of Italy) to America.  Here is information on the Shrine itself.

Well, this shrine to Our Lady of Pompei is where it all started.

After our visit to the Scavi of ancient Pompeii, we went to the Shrine and the Archbishop who is responsible for the Shrine - and its MANY charitable organizations - took us up the bell tower where we had a wonderful view of all of Pompei & Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius back there...

The buildings here are all part of the charitable outreach of the Shrine: school, prison, housing... it's incredible all the things they do at the Shrine.

Then Archbishop Caputo took is through the shrine and its many chapels.  It is a MAJOR pilgrimage spot for many Italians (and others) so there are various chapels all through the complex - in addition to the main shrine church.  In one of the chapels lies the body of Blessed Bartolo Longo - a member of the Order (the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem) and, really, the founder of the entire shrine and complex.

Then, on Sunday, was the event for which we had come to Pompei - the Investiture.  

Blessed Bartolo Longo's cause is still under investigation.  Perhaps you could ask his intercession - and maybe be part of him becoming a saint...

Pompei Scavi and Investiture - Part 1

Well, after the departure of our pilgrims on June 23 (by the way, some of those whose luggage was lost STILL have not received it at home - say a prayer for them), Cardinal O'Brien and I had a very busy week - thus the delay in my posting.

On Friday, June 24 we headed south to Pompei for an Investiture Ceremony.  While I'll describe the weekend here - one word can sum it up: HOT!  It was 33 degrees (about 91 degrees) and humid.  Throughout the weekend we were just hot and sweaty!  Yuck!  None-the-less, it was a great weekend Investiture with a special tour of the Scavi of Pompeii.

As I've been writing - I decided to split this post into 2 parts: Part 1 - the Scavi; Part 2 - the Investiture.

(Have you noticed the different spellings already?  The ancient city is "Pompeii" - the modern city is "Pompei.")

Because this was my first trip - the local Lieutenant of the Order had arranged for the Cardinal and I to have a guided tour of the excavations.  Here are some photos as we started out into the area of ancient Pompeii.

As you can guess, this photo shows Mount Vesuvius in the background - because of the heat and humidity - it's a bit hazy - but you can see how close it is - only 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from the ancient town of Pompeii.

I learned that these big blocks were a normal part of Roman streets in Pompeii.  The purpose was simple - to keep chariots and carts out of the public pedestrian areas - like the town square.

This is the Roman bath.  Just look at the frescos and details in these next few photos!  Incredible!

This is the ceiling in the Bath

This is a home that had been converted into a business

The "hole" in the roof allowed water to gather in the basin below.

Exquisite tile work

 The theater

We did see the famous casts of people who died at Pompeii - the people who simply lay down in their place and whose bodies, covered by ash for centuries, left "holes" in the ground where their bodies had been.  When the area was excavated they found these "caverns" where intact (but now decomposed) bodies had lain - and they poured plaster into the holes - leaving us with the perfect casts of their exact position as they died.

If you'd like to learn more about Pompeii - here's a LINK to a History Channel website.  I don't really like the "scare tactic" at the end... but...