Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Seeing St. Paul Outside the Walls was something I’d been looking forward to for years. When my father returned from Rome with Julia, Brian, and Nate, this was the place he spoke of over and over. Seeing the chains of St. Paul in person changed his life.

We arrived very early in the morning and it was so quiet. The sun was coming up over the Basilica and light was spilling through the pillars inside. I walked up towards the altar and there they were – the chains of St. Paul. I just stood there quietly, listening to the gentle choir singing.

We descended down the stairs to reliquary to see the chains. How do you describe looking at the chains that you grew up singing about? I could have stood there all day just being near to the history of someone who knew Our Lord.

We entered chapel to the left of the altar where the cross of Bridget of Sweden is kept. There were a handful of people praying in the chapel. I wondered if they were also asking Our Father if the cross would come to life for them. Can you imagine?

As we left, there was a stunning refugee sculpture. I wish I had words to put to my thoughts on refugees. Our Lord was a refugee and the Gospel of Matthew discusses how He will separate the sheep and the goats someday. I don’t need to add my clumsy words to His plain instructions on how to care for others.

I ate a delicious nutella croissant and watched as people drank their coffee out of cups at the counter. They smiled and spoke to one another as they had their morning coffee. They didn’t wait in a long line, looking down at their phones, only to rush out the door with a plastic or paper cup. This felt right to me.

Scala Santa

For so many years, I’ve wanted to kneel and honor the walk of our Lord. I truly wasn’t sure if my knees would make it, but they did!

Following my dearest Brian, I held rosaries in my hand that had been blessed by a priest at the bottom of the stairs. What I thought would bring pain brought sweet joy. For many years, my knees have been a source of great pain. A few years ago, I had a traumatic meniscus tear and my knee has had much pain and swelling since then. Being able to ascend the stairs that Christ walked up when He was sentenced by Pontius Pilate was the greatest honor of my life to date.

Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies)

At the top of the stairs is a small, peaceful, enclosed chapel that you enter from the side. There, framed in the chapel, was a piece of the chair Christ sat in at the Last Supper. This chapel is called the ‘Holy of Holies’. It contains the Acheropita (Image of the Most Holy Savior) that is “not painted by human hand”

Saint John Lateran

The most amazing sculptures surrounded the room! Each apostle was sculpted with a representation of how they were martyred. I was especially taken with Saint Bartholomew.

Hidden in the back left chapel is a piece of the table of the Last Supper.

Note: Every amazing relic on this trip is special thanks to The Catholic Traveler. His website is amazing and he is so generous with his information.