Sightings - Rome, Italy

The following series of slide shows were sent to us with descriptions written by Henry Bludau

. These were taken on his pilgrimages to Ars

, La Salette

, Loreto

, Lyon

, Mugnano

, Paris

and Rome

Rome, Italy

It was in ancient Rome that St. Philomena met her martyrdom and was then buried away in its catacombs. By the Termini rail station, on the Plaza Republica, the remains of Diocletian's Baths can still be seen standing two or three stories high still, a construction project of the emperor who reputedly was the one who ordered the death of St. Philomena.

On the Tiber River itself, not far from the Circus Maximus, a horse track apparently, are the remains of a span of an old Roman bridge that would have been standing in St. Philomena's day. One is reminded of the part of St. Philomena's drawn-out martyrdom where she was thrown into the river with an anchor tied around her neck, in an effort to drown her, that the angels delivered her from by severing the rope and carrying her safely back across the water to the shore before the eyes of the many amazed witnesses.

The rest of the pics here were all taken underground, in the low light of the catacomb of St. Priscilla, and are of the shelf tomb in the wall that was the resting place of St. Philomena's mortal remains for over 16 centuries. These pictures were taken on two different visits. The second visit was on one of her feast days, and so the red candle that stands in the niche was lit on that day, and provided more light for picture-taking.

The tomb itself was once again blocked up with bricks, but a square niche was left in its center that allows one to touch inside the top and bottom of the space she laid in. That is the Northern Ireland group members in the latter visit pictures. On my first visit here, I was left alone with her tomb to pray for ten minutes.