Day XIX. Sunday, Week III.
"I will prove my holiness through you. I will gather you from the ends of the earth; I will pour clean water on you and wash away all of your sins. I will give you a new spirit within you, says the Lord (Entrance antiphon for today - Ez 36:23-26).
San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura. If you remember, the first week of Lent, we visited San Lorenzo in Panisperna, which was built over the traditional place where Saint Lawrence was burnt to death (258). This church was built over his tomb (see photo). Behind the tomb is a marble slab stained with blood on which was under the place where the
Romans roasted their victims alive.
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Also in the tomb are the earthly remains of Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878), founder of the North American College (where I live). His body is incorrupt (see photo). This church was, miraculously, the only church in Rome destroyed during World War II, when it was hit by allied bombs (August 1943). Pius XII is remembered very fondly for his kindness to all the victims.