January 3rd

Day two in Rome! Sorry this is late but our days activities went late into the night.

We started our morning touring the streets of Ancient Rome with Dr. Liz Lev, an art historian and expert in all things Rome. She gave a guided tour of the forum, the giant city market place at the center of the city. Not only was this the center of business and politics, but of religion. It was here that Julius Caesar was proclaimed a god and here that Peter and Paul came proclaiming God had become man in Jesus Christ.

We also toured the Colosseum, the ancient church of St. Clement,known for its mosaic depicting the cross as the tree of life.

Then in the evening we visited the Community of San Egidio. This is an international community of lay faithful which started almost 50 years ago with 5 high schoolers who decided to take their faith more seriously. They have 3 goals: Prayer, the Poor, and Peace. The members work and live in the world but make time to come together for prayer and service of the poor in Rome. In 1992, they facilitated a peaceful resolution to the civil war in Mozambique. We ended the night by joining them for Evening Prayer and grabbing some pizza on the way home.

Ciao!

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