The Blessing of the Vehicles

I've been looking forward to today ever since I heard about it shortly after arriving in Rome. And, as is so often true, the story is better than one hears at first.

(This tuba player is warming up for the festivities. The photo is for you, Fannie, as most of this day was.)

At the southeastern end of the Forum, near the Colosseum, is a (relatively) small church called Santa Francesca Roman. This church is dedicated to a 14th century Roman noble woman who spent her life caring for the poor and sick and founded a group of other women like her to do the same. This was a dangerous time in Rome, and it came to be believed that she had a guardian angel who accompanied her on her missions into the poorest parts of the city with a lamp to light her way. Because of this, she has in modern times been declared the patron saint of vehicles. Now every year, on March 9, there is a blessing on the Via dei Fori Imperiali very near to her church.

So, I bought a couple of SMART cars and an old racing Mini and today headed down hill. As soon as I left home I saw that Via Cavour (the extension of my street towards the Forum) was blocked off as was the main street alongside the Forum. I had understood that the tradition was that people parked their cars as close as possible to the church in order for the potency of the blessing to be strong. I guess not. What I found, though, may be as good. In front of the place where the cardinal was to perform the blessing was parked every kind of municipal and emergency vehicle, even a giant crane, many police motorcycles and cars, a fire truck, an ambulance, a bus, an old, old Fiat and some bigger, more modern car, maybe a Lancia.

I wandered up into the church just in time to see the Touring Club of Rome getting ready to present the church with flowers and a gold cup.


The cardinal arrived a little later and services started.
Around noon, the cardinal came outside to do the blessing, which was very brief compared to the services in the church. As soon as he said the amen, all the vehicles in the street below him blasted their horns for about 30 seconds, absolutely terrifying a sweet dog that was hanging out with his people and me on the road above. Then everyone raced their motors and left to get back to work. I wandered off to check out the tourist info center. On the way home I stopped to try some tourist food. I had an incredibly thin crusted carciofi pizza with almost no taste.
I hope my efforts will help to keep the kids safe on the roads this year (and out of tourist eateries)!

Another note on this church comes from Sarah and DK's "Eyewitness Travel Rome." Inside the church are the imprints of the knees of Saints Peter and Paul. The story goes that a magician, yes, a magic man, named Simon Magus, claimed that he was more powerful than the Apostles. To prove it, he levitated above the Forum, not in ruins at the time, of course. Peter and Paul got down on their knees to pray that God humble Mr. Magus. At that moment, he plunged to his death and the knee prints of the Apostles remained on the flagstones in the church. (There were too many people there today for me to see these, so clearly I will have to visit again another time.)