Rome: Day 4

Our first stop on this day was Il Gesù, the mother church of the Jesuits. We were blessed to walk in right as they were about to begin daily Mass. It was truly beautiful and peaceful.

A taste of what we saw inside...

The ceiling...

We had a bit a bad luck with the churches in Trastevere. First we went to St. Mary in search of the Holy sponge that Christ was given a drink from on the cross, but it was no longer there. This was also where a spring of pure oil sprung up on the day of Christ's birth. This was also the site of the earliest church in Rome. Then we tried San Crisogono, and it wasn't open yet. Then St. Cecilia was closed - likely because it is an active convent. Here is the outside of St. Cecilia in the garden.

Then we returned to San Crisogono. Here is the Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, another incorrupt.

A beautiful statue of St. Joseph with the child Jesus...

The following picture is the baby Jesus in his glorious crib. Actually, I have a story about this one. Being the Christmas season, nearly all the churches we visited had an infant Jesus in a crib near the altar. This church was no different, but it was a very unique presentation. Hannah immediately came to me to tell me I just had to see this so we could do it at our house. She pulled me over and explained. Then after conferring with her partner (AKA her sister) she asked for paper and a pen so she could draw it. She did not want to forget what it looked like exactly. I did not have paper, but gave her a crayon and a coloring book where she used the back blank page to diagram. I even offered to label things in the diagram so we could remember the details. Then, of course, I took a picture when she wasn't paying attention. I did not want to deter her creative juices. I assured her this was definitely doable and would take priority over all our Advent projects next year. I can't wait to do this with her. I hope she is still this excited about it when the time comes. Next year we will be back in the states and have all the craft stores we could ask for at our finger tips. I am really looking forward to it. I love that she is so creative and crafty!

Here she is drawing while her sister watches and encourages her. Genna has such a gift of encouragement and support. She has such a tender, caring soul!

Here is Hannah's final diagram with my labels and some Raggedy Anne stickers that she thought added a little something to the picture. :)