A Weekly Update from 

Holy Family Classical School

Rome Recap

Below is attached a letter Mr. Isaac Fugikawa composed, as head of the student council, to the families of the school about their experiences in Rome. He compiled the writing of all his classmates into one cohesive narrative. 

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On behalf of all the Juniors and Seniors who got to go to Rome this Easter, thank you to everyone who made the trip possible, and we pray that every future trip will be as awe-inspiring and lively as ours was. Everything about Rome was even better than any of us could have expected, and the connections and revelations, or moments where we all could merely stand and stare speechless were priceless. There is no way we could ever thank everyone enough. 

Getting to see ancient Rome, the same Rome we have studied about for years now, and getting to even touch, see and even “climb and frolic around” at Ostia in the now ruins of the same empire through which our Lord chose to enter the world. We were able to see in person the very stories of the Romans we have learned to love. Caesar, Augustus, Constantine, Trajan, Hadrian, Romulus, and countless others all lived, breathed, and walked in that very city. All these great Romans, however, would have amounted to nothing if not for the Christianity that rose out from it and converted the very life and culture of Rome. There is perhaps no greater proof of this victory of the church than the old temple to Romulus, that has now been converted into a catholic church that we pilgrims got to enter. 

Everywhere we went we saw Christianity embedded wholly into Italian art, even in the pagan works. The very temple to the false plurality of pagan gods’ itself, called the Pantheon, has been transformed into a new temple to the One, True, and All-powerful God. Where else may one walk through a gate flanked by both Hercules and David? Where else can a person take a casual stroll from the Colosseum to the Basilica of St. John Lateran? Where else can one visit four, breathtaking, and glorious Basilicas. Getting to spend Holy Thursday in St. Maria Maggiore, and Good Friday in St. Peter’s was more than we could ever ask. The symbolism and beauty in those marvelous churches made our jaws physically drop. 

Many of us pilgrims even got to see the relics of saints particularly special to us, including Sts. Peter, Paul, Bartholomew, Longinus, Cecilia, Francis, Catherine of Siena, Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Thomas Aquinas, and countless others. Many students especially enjoyed finding all the relics of the saints, helping them grow in their personal relationships with the saints, our role models and intercessors, as well as introducing us to many more perhaps lesser known saints with equally powerful stories. Perhaps the pinnacle of the “relic hunting” happened at Santa Croce, a church built on the literal soil from the Holy Land, in which relics of the true cross, one of Jesus’ own nails, St. Thomas’ finger, two thorns from our Lord’s crown made glorious, and the writings that have been written by Pilate himself, along with the cross beam of Dysmas the good thief’s cross. All of those relics are housed in one of the most beautiful churches in Rome, dedicated to Jesus’ Passion.

Nothing else compares to walking around the beautiful cobblestone streets of Rome on the Seven Churches Pilgrimage, stopping almost every block to see yet another glorious dwelling place of our Lord. As many of us pilgrims agree, “the whole experience filled me with such peace and joy that I’ll remember it vividly for the rest of my life.” The beauty of the liturgy of the Easter Vigil at the Venerable English College, where the English martyrs themselves were trained before giving up their lives for Jesus in England, will surely never leave us. All of Italy, including the towns of Orvieto, Assisi, Ostia, and the genius city of Florence, was filled with beauty and a cultural richness that we have never before seen. The views of the countryside from Assisi and Orvieto took our breath away, and filled us all with peace and awe of God’s creation. Even upon turning around we were not any less amazed, for we were always met with astounding architectural masterpieces like the Duomo. We could only imagine the pain of Dante from being exiled from the beautiful city of Florence, and the gut-wrenching sadness he must have felt for its moral decay. 

What was truly impressive was not only the grandeur of the architecture, but the fact each city we traveled to had its own unique style, and that soon we were able to see into the minds of the creators and distinguish Romanesque from Gothic, and them both from Baroque and Florentine’s own singular style. 

Last, yet certainly not least, the food of Italy leaves American cuisine far behind. With countless unique pastas, pizzas, and pastries, we never left a meal feeling unsatisfied. Eating together as classmates and friends, all at the same table, will be a never-forgotten memory, shared by us all. We all hope that we might be able to bring back a little bit of Italy back through us, for not one of us has returned from the pilgrimage unchanged. Whether through our relics, our appreciation of art, or our new-found love of Italian espresso, we hope that we may not ever truly leave behind the beauty of Rome, but that we might share the love of the Holy City with everyone, especially those who look forward to their own life-changing pilgrimage, and those who through their time, talent, and treasure made the entire thing possible, who have all our prayers of thanks forever. 

April 22nd & April 23rd