Trip in Rome and Leuven-Brugges, Belgium

From Tel Aviv, I flew to Rome on Easter Sunday afternoon. I was going to be in Rome for a brief visit from April 8 to 12. Fr. Teodie Holgado CSsR, our confrere assigned in Italy, was my host and guide. On Easter Tuesday, we went to visit the catacombs, along with a laywoman also quite associated with the Italy-OFW network.

When we went to St. Camilius Catacombs, there was a huge crowd of tourists. It took us more than an hour to wait for our turn to enter the catacombs. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the catacombs. It was a rather rushed visit which gave very little time to meditate on the significance of these catacombs to the early life of the Church in Rome. Nonetheless, it was a most interesting part of my pilgrimage to Rome as it provided a glimpse into the burial practices of Christians at this time and also demythologized the "romantic" notion of these catacombs as hiding places of the persecuted Christians. Our guide - an Indian priest - emphasized the fact that these catacombs could have been easily monitored by the Roman authorities that they could not be the "underground" church that the myths perpetuated.

Another myth in a nearby church - where the Quo Vadis experience of St. Paul was supposed to have taken place - is a stone where the footprints of Jesus got imprinted for eternity. (see photo).

Then we proceeded to visit the Shrine-church of Divino Amor. Here on this spot (the tower in the photo) the Blessed Mother was supposed to have made an apparition.

A true apparition for the contemporary period are the awesome post-modern stained-glass windows of the new church at the Divino Amor pilgrimage site.

On 11 April, the day that I meant to go to the St. Peter's Basilica to pay my "respects" as well as do the usual practice when I am at the Vatican, I discovered to my delight that it was the day Pope Benedict would have an audience. So at 10:00 a.m. the huge crowd began to gather on a sunny spring day.

By 11:00 a.m. the square was filled with tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors. There were various tour groups. All types, kinds and categories of people were there.

Since the crowd was so huge, there were a number of screens placed strategically across the square so the people could see the face of the Pope. One of the screens was in front of where I stood. (see photo).

The Popemobile passed by where we were standing. The whole experience made my day that day.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk to the Coliseum and, once again, enjoyed the site of the glory of Rome with the grandeur of its architecture that have stood the ravages of time and consumerism.

After Rome, I flew to Brussels, Belgium. There I visited the old cities of Gent and Brugges.

Michel, the husband of a Pinay took us around the old city of Gent.

The distinctive Belgian architecture which gave aesthetic attention to the facade of building is still a must-see in this old city of Gent.

Fr. Rey Raluto, a diocesan priest from the Diocese of Malaybalay, studying theology at Leuven University was my traveling companion.

Fr. Rey officiated at a Mass organized by the Filipino community of Gent. There were more than 25 Pinays with half of them bringing their husbands and children. During the Mass, they sang Tagalog songs.

At the square facing a train terminal in Brugges with its most interesting fountain.

Inside the main cathedral in Brugges, one is delighted to see the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help displayed prominently and with a possibility of visitors and pilgrims lighting candles as they pray in front of the icon. On both sides of the icon are images of the two most popular Redemptorist saints - St. Alphonsus Ma. de Liguori on the left and St. Gerard Majella, on the right.

A close-up photo of the icon.
An interesting feature of this mini-shrine is the enclosed glass containing silver artifacts representing body parts which echo practices in many other churches including those in the Ilocos Sur ancient churches.

One can see the icon on the left of the church's main hall. The main altar is towards the backdrop of this photo.

Tulips bloom on this clear spring day in Brugges.

A horse carriage bearing tourists. The backdrop are the facade of ancient buildings.

The CSsR monastery and the "abandoned" Redemptorist church in Leuven.

Me and my confrere, Fr. Ino Cueto CSsR, who is finishing his Phd Theology at Leuven University.

Scenes in the classroom and lecture hall at Leuven University where I delivered a lecture and a talk on 18/19 April 2007. The first lecture was on Theology and Ecology (from the Indigenous Peoples' Perspective) while the talk was on Peace-Building Paradigms of the Indigenous People Amidst Multi-Layered Conflicts (Challenges to Theology).

With Pinoy students at their dormitory before the lecture.