Diocese of Rome hosts Prayer Vigils ahead of Canonizations
(Vatican Radio) Ahead of Sunday’s Canonization Mass, the Diocese of Rome has prepared
churches throughout Rome’s centre for a night of Prayer Vigils and Confessions.
Beginning
at 5 pm Rome time, the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul’s outside the Walls is hosting
Vespers and a Vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday. The Liturgy will be followed by
Eucharistic Adoration until Compline, while in the Basilica’s cloister, pilgrims will
be able to visit a display with memorials of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican
Council.
Across town at the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, a prayer vigil
is being held for the faithful from John XXIII’s hometown of Bergamo, Italy.
From
9 pm Rome time, eleven churches in downtown Rome will be open for prayer and confessions,
with liturgies and devotions scheduled in seven different languages. English speaking
pilgrims will gather at the Church of San Marco al Campidoglio, right next to Piazza
Venezia in the heart of the city. Other churches will feature services in Polish,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic, as well as Italian. Below you can find the
complete list of participating churches:
S. Agnese in Agone a Piazza Navona POLISH S.
Marco al Campidoglio ITALIAN, ENGLISH S. Anastasia PORTUGUESE Santissimo
Nome di Gesù all’Argentina ITALIAN, SPANISH S. Maria in Vallicella ITALIAN S.
Giovanni dei Fiorentini ITALIAN S. Andrea della Valle FRENCH S. Bartolomeo
all’Isola Tiberina ITALIAN, ARABAIC S. Ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio ITALIAN Chiesa
delle SS. Stimmate ITALIAN Chiesa dei XII Apostoli ITALIAN Basilica Sacro
Cuore di Gesù ITALIAN
Following Sunday’s Mass of Canonization, the Basilica
of Saint Peter will be open from 2 pm to 10 pm to allow pilgrims the opportunity to
visit the tombs of the new Saints.
Finally, on Monday, a Mass of Thanksgiving
for the Canonizations will be said in Saint Peter’s Square, beginning at 10 am.
With
as many as three million people expected for this weekend’s events, the Church of
Rome is doing everything they can to make it a spirit, and grace-filled, weekend.