Welcome to The Eternal City and Me!

This blog is about my adventures in Rome, the Eternal City. My family has been traveling to Rome for centuries. Some have traveled here on religious pilgrimage. Others have come to find work. Today, we mostly travel to Rome to enjoy all that the city offers: the beautiful scenery of the Tiber, the centuries of history, and the many culinary delights. On this trip I have traveled to Rome to take a class about the ways the Roman Catholic Church works with other Christian denominations and religious groups.

Somehow taking this course in Rome seems appropriate. As a global centre of Roman Catholic Church, Rome has been a meeting place for Christians for centuries. Sometimes the interactions have been tense, such as when the Visigoths (who were Arian Christians) sacked Rome (inhabited by Nicene Christians) on August 24, 410 CE. Other times the interactions between Christians have been peaceful and celebratory. Recently, Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops participated in an ecumenical summit called Growing Together. The bishops met for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 22-29, 2024) to celebrate their communion in Christ, even though they are unable to be united in one Church.

I am excited to follow in the footsteps of these Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops. In this blog, I will share my thoughts about the course as well as my adventures in Rome. Thank you for joining me on this exciting journey.