A week of classes, part III

After classes on were over on Friday noon, 9/30, I went to look for more churches.  The first one I got to was S. Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci, which translates as St. Mary of thanks to the furnaces or Our Lady of Grace in Fornaci.  Don't laugh at me.  You try in on the computer translator.

The things on the right are all special hearts.

                  This is St. John of Matha.  I love his handcuffs.

                              This is St. Felice of Valois

                    Below is Blessed Anne Marie Taigi

                                A close-up of her vision.

This next church is a new neighborhood church called Gregory VII.  I was told that Pope John Paul II requested more of these neighborhood churches be built in the areas of Rome that needed them.  Personally I would rather walk the six blocks to go to St. Peters or others very close by.  Remember that driving is not an option in most of Rome because there is no place to park.  Buses are good though, one euro pays for unlimited use for 90 minutes.  Again walking is good because it wears off all the pasta they eat.

                                Yes this is the church and not a utilities building.

The good news is that it is bright and cheery.

The bad news is that the modern art is so much less beautiful.

                                           I'm guessing this was Mary.

 This church is can see from my balcony.  It took me over an hour to find it.  I would be within a couple blocks of it and could actually see it but couldn't get to it. That happened three different times from three different directions.  Once I finally found it I was only ten minutes from where I had started.  That is why St. Paul could mention a street called Straight Street and everyone would know what he was talking about.  It is called the Church of St. Mary, Mediatrix.

    It seemed to be run by the Franciscans and was a part of one of the many seminary schools in Rome.

 That evening I went on another tour of the Vatican Museum with one of our guys who had missed the first one.  I got to see the display on the Vatican radio.  This is a model of the tower on an old castle.

     Above is a model of the Vatican made with little pieces of wood.

                           Here is the first mini-skirt model.

            These are tapestries.  Above the birth of Jesus and below is the left part of the image which
               is the visit of the magi.

 

Ascension

Above and below are three different versions of the massacre of the Holy Innocents.

                This is a fun one.  If you look from the left the table looks like it is angled toward you.
                    If you look from the right it looks like it points straight out from the picture.
                     Photography doesn't show it as well but you still get the idea.

 Then we get to the modern art section of the Vatican Museum.  I like the old so much more.

                 This picture actually came out pretty good.  That is what it looks like.  I think it is a
                     picture of a black cat in a coal bin at night.

                       Thank God for talented people like Michelangelo.