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A St. Michael's Perspective

If you ever want to know if someone is from British Columbia but are too afraid to ask them (we are intense and scary people, after all), just ask them if they like the mountains. The answer will always be a "yes" and, if you are lucky, we will regale you with stories about scaling our favorite mountains. As hard as it can be to climb a mountain, the views of the valley below are always worth it.
Arcangelo Michele (Matteo Carboni)

Because I love climbing mountains and seeing the word with the "Birds Eye view", I walked to the top of Castel Sant'Angelo. Castel Sant'Angelo was initially built between 135-139 AD to serve as a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family. In 403 AD, however, it was converted into a fort along the Tiber River by the Western Emperor Honorius to protect the Vatican area from invasion. During the sack of Rome by the Visigoths (410 AD) and the Vandals (455 AD), the fortress served this purpose very well.

The castle received its current name in 590 AD. A few months before, a plague swept through Rome, killing many citizens, including Pope Plagius II. The new pope, Gregory I, held a procession to petition God to bring an end to the plague. According to legend, Gregory I had a vision of Saint Michael the Archangel hovering over Hadrian's mausoleum. Holding Gregory's gaze, Saint Michael sheathed his sword. Gregory interpreted his vision as a sign from God that the plague would come to an end. From that moment on, Hadrian's Mausoleum was called Castel Sant'Angelo.

View of St. Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant'Angelo (Matteo Carboni)
Standing at the top of the Castello, I was able to look out over the skyline of Rome. I wondered how many popes and soldiers had looked out over Rome. How many Carboni's had made this walk? The walk to the top led me through the apartments of Pope Clement VII and the room in which Giordano Bruno was tried and convicted. Hard political decisions have been made in these rooms. These decision makers also looked out over the ramparts of Castel Sant'Angelo at the people below, perhaps standing where I stood, wondering what was the best course forward for the people in their care. 

The question is: once we've made it to the top, how do we connect with everything we have left behind, everything we have left below? I ponder this question every time I reach the top of a mountain. How can I go down? The way up always seems to change me. The journey and the views forever alters my perception of the world. I always struggle to explain what I have seen to people.

View of the Tiber River (Matteo Carboni)
One of the questions I have been asking myself over the past week is: how can I share what I have seen and experienced in Rome with people at home? I have seen a different side to the Roman Catholic Church. The classes introduced me to the decisions made by the Vatican and many conversations it is having with people around the world. The visits to the Dicasteries gave me an inward look at the bureaucracy of the church. But it is also introduced me to some of the people who work on ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, and issues of human development. I feel like I have reached the top of the Castello and I am looking down. The Church is as tall as I imagined it to be and taller. It is as broad as I imagined it to be and broader. I feel comforted knowing the Church is not as narrow and as small as some people want it to be. 

I don't know what to tell my friends and family, or my colleagues and classmates. I may figure it out before I leave Rome on Saturday. Though, I probably won't. All I know is, standing up here with Saint Michael and looking out over Rome, the way I see the world has been changed forever.




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