On Saturday 10th March Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit the Monastery of San
Gregorio al Celio to take part in Vespers together with the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Williams.
The occasion coincides with celebrations in this Camaldolese
monastery to mark the founding of their Order on 1012 .
A monastery located
on the Caelian hill where since the Second Vatican Council strong ties with Canterbury
and the Anglican Communion have developed.
A tradition of ties with England
that began here centuries earlier with Gregory the Great who at the end of the sixth
century dispatched from here Saint Augustine on a mission to convert its people.
Also
on this site, there exists another lesser known English landmark: the tomb of Sir
Edward Carne. Sir Edward is worthy of note for having been sent here a couple of
times between 1529 and 1533 by King Henry VIII in an effort to obtain papal approval
to the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Attached to the monastery
and rising on top of an elegant flight of steps, there now stands the Roman Church
of San Gregorio Magno , dedicated to Gregory the Great by a later Pope , Gregory
II.
Today with the exception of the cosmatesque pavement and some ancient
columns, the Church is an example of baroque splendour.
But hidden away in
the far right hand corner is a chapel believed to have been Gregory the Great's cell
in which you can still admire the stone where he slept. Also housed there is his imposing
marble throne.
Join Veronica Scarisbrick in this Church as she visits with
Professor of Fine Arts Breda Ennis.