Greetings from the Eternal City!

I arrived in Rome yesterday late afternoon with my two travelling companions, who are currently out wandering the streets of Rome.

The direct flight from Chicago to Rome, following our six hour and fifteen minute "technical delay," was most uneventful (which is generally the way one would prefer a transatlantic flight). From the airport we took a taxi to the hotel, settled in, refreshed and went out the city on a bit of an "orientation" tour.

The hotel rooms are quiet tiny (much smaller than the Internet hinted at) and, well, cozy. The upside to the hotel is that it has free wi-fi (when you can find it). Ah, Roma! The hotel is about a fifteen minute walk from St. Peter's and maybe ten minutes from a metro stop, which puts it in a fairly good location.

This morning I intended to celebrate Mass in St. Peter's before beginning the day but woke too late. Apparently the buzzer on the alarm clock in the room has a volume control that was turned all the way down. I'd never heard of such a thing. Tomorrow I might rely on a wake-up call.

After readying for the day we took a journey on foot to the Casa Santa Maria, the residence for American priests studying in Rome and the visitor's office of the US Bishops, to collect our tickets to Sunday's Papal Mass at which Pope Benedict XVI will declare five new Saints for the Church, among whom is Father Damien of Molokai and the reason I have come now to Rome.

Today has been a beautiful and sunny day, though a bit humid. I've done a bit of shopping, though oddly enough I cannot find much of what I am in search of. I've also gotten lost a time or two, which is nothing out of the ordinary. I stopped into several churches for a few moments of quiet prayer.

Rome is a city of several contradictions. Walking along the main streets, Rome is rather noisy, not because of the many people who walk the sidewalks but because of the many motorcycles and mopeds. However, if you turn off of the main streets and wander down the side streets Rome becomes amazingly quiet, peaceful and calm.

I was particularly struck by this when I entered the Jesu, the church in which St. Ignatius of Loyola is buried. Despite the number of people inside the church, it was still and quiet, as most every Catholic church is. It was another great reminder of the presence of the Eucharistic Lord.

This is now, I think, my fifth time to Rome and while I am enjoying myself, Rome seems to have lost some of its charm for me. I still enjoy the culture, the sights and the food (of course!), but it is different since my trips to Hawaii, where I a large part of my heart remains.

I have not yet bumped into the large Hawaiian contingent; I will continue to keep my eyes open for them.

Strangely enough, I haven't found very many items relating to Father Damien at all, save a few keychains. I was hoping to find statues and images of the new Saint.

Now I'm going to upload a few pictures from Saint Peter's before joining a priest who was a year or so ahead of me in the seminary for gelato.