St Dominic in Modern Rome

Extract

Mr G. K. Chesterton tells us in one of his essays of a man who went to Rome and missed seeing the Pope because he stood too long staring at the Papal Guard. We can have more sympathy with that sort of absence of mind than with the more serious kind of tourist who, Baedeker in hand, ‘does’ Rome dutifully and grimly and comes home exhausted and dazed with a blur of memories. Sight-seeing ‘according to plan’ is one of the penitential exercises of the pilgrim: much better to keep your eyes open and let the sights seek you, and you will stumble on surprises at every turn and be rewarded with thrills all the time.

When you go to Rome to attend a General Chapter there is not much time or opportunity for sight-seeing: in a sense you become part of the picture; for the time being you are one of the sights yourself. But even so, you can’t help noticing things and there are wonders for your delight on every hand. When we came down from the sky it was a very abrupt change from the wet winds and cold rains of the North to the parched, dusty airfield at Chiampino blazing in the sun. The tropical dress of the R.A.F. men in contrast with ourselves dressed in the attire of a less torrid climate made us feel even warmer than we actually were; but we positively gasped and perspired when from the bus that took us to Rome we saw a football match being played before a cheering crowd at a terrific pace while the themometer registered nearly a hundred degrees.