When in Rome! Day 6

This morning we went to the Catacombs of San Callisto and St. Paul's Basilica. The Catacombs were so interesting. During it's time, over 300,000 people were buried here-- mostly Christians who were persecuted and killed. The grounds were very beautiful and peaceful!! I love the statue of the Good Shephard! The anchor/cross is a sign of the Savior meaning anchored in Him and to remember His great atoning sacrifice. We went down to the 2nd floor, but there are 4 floors spanning a much larger area than we went-- we toured only a small section. The statue of the lady (St. Cecilia) is a story of a woman who was killed for her Christian beliefs. They wouldn't kill her if she denied her beliefs and she refused. It is said that they tried to kill her by boiling her in water but she didn't die, so they slit her throat. They moved her remains 3 times and her body never decayed, so they made her a saint, because of this miracle...so the story goes. The sculpture was done by an American artist and donated to the catacombs. It's believed that the rooms belonged to families--usually killed together, so they were buried together. It shows the frescoes on the walls that depict Biblical stories having to do with the Resurrection or the Atonement of Christ-- signifying hope for the people who would come there to visit family members. A lot of marble is still intact and was on the graves of the wealthy and the Popes. The road in the next couple of pictures is the Apian Way-- the first highway built by the Romans starting from Rome that went all the way to the ocean. St. Paul's Basilica was very interesting! The pictures of all 268 Popes are shown inside and how long they were Pope underneath their picture! Paul is said to be buried here and the pictures show his sarcophagus. (St. Peter is buried in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.) This basilica is considered part of the Vatican, even though it's not geographically part of the Vatican. Our tour guide was awesome! He spoke really good English and we could understand him and he gave good information the entire tour-- he never stopped talking and referenced interesting things even on the bus to and from the hotel. It was a fun tour although very windy and COLD!  We went to the Edward Jones Farewell dinner tonight and enjoyed a nice meal and friendly people at our table.  For some reason Bill wanted a picture of the dessert table!  Hahahaha!  It has been a fun week here in Rome but I am READY to go home...although not ready for the long day of travel tomorrow!