Day 12: Welcome Mass

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I've written. We have just been so very busy.  Today we had both of our classes.  In my history of Rome class we are watching a British-Italian TV series for the last hour called ROME. It's a very exciting series and the whole class enjoys it. It's noted for its historical accuracy.

St. Ignatius in downtown Rome

After classes, Ashley and I got ready for the Welcome Mass for us students that was held downtown Rome.  We had to go to the Saint Ignatius Church, which was extremely beautiful and old. We left around 5:45 and took the bus down and had to walk a considerable distance there.  I'm not sure why Loyola just didn't charter a bus for everyone, it would have been easier for all of us.  Like I said, the church was very beautiful.  The chapel that we celebrated mass in was called the "Assumpta Est Maria in Caelum" (translated from Latin as The Assumption of Mary into the Sky). The chapel itself had many beautiful frescoes and was built sometime around 1649.

The Chapel in St. Ignatius Church

Ashley admiring the chapel's beauty!

The mass was celebrated by Father Charles, a teacher we both know from Loyola's Lake Shore Campus back in Chicago and a Rome Center priest.  Ashley and I both brought up the gifts before communion.  The whole event was a great experience.

Post-Church

After Church, we all walked as a group to the restaurant that we had pre-paid for, that I have since forgotten the name of.  It wasn't so great.  All they had to drink was sparkly water and wine.  I tried the wine with the Alfredo spaghetti we had and I officially will never be drinking wine EVER again with a meal.  It did not taste very good.  Grandpa probably would have liked it! A lot of the teachers that were there got drunk and it just wasn't that great of a time. Because of it, Ashley and I and a few others left early to take the bus home and went to bed.