Day 12: Rome

Friday, June 6, 2025

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

Today was cram-packed with sites to see in Rome. It was a bit overwhelming. I’ve decided to write about our first stop of the day and save the rest for later.  I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. 

We left the hotel at 8:00 and went to the Domitilla Catacombs. I really didn’t know what to expect. Apparently in the second century AD, Christians were not allowed to be cremated like the Romans. So they built their own graveyards. 

This particular gravesite is one of 64 catacombs in Rome and is said to be the largest in the world, stretching 8 miles underground and featuring 5 levels that reach down as far as 100 feet.

We descended first into a church area. (The lights at the top of the picture are at street level.) This would be where funeral services would have been conducted. 

Going into the catacombs reminded me of descending into Mammoth Cave near Bowling Green. The temperature was a comfortable 68 degrees. And the chapel area reminded me of the Snowball Room. I was not particularly weirded out about being in narrow passageways in this cave. But some of my friends were. 

This is not the clearest picture, but hopefully you’ll be able to visualize it. 

The floor is dirt. The walls are covered with terracotta bricks. Cut into the walls are rectangles matching the dimensions of the deceased—100,000 of them. The dead were wrapped in cloths and slid into the 3-dimensional rectangle. Unfortunately only 800 tombs remain intact. 

Once a body was placed in the grave, the opening was sealed with terra cotta and then, if the deceased were wealthy, a marble marker was placed over the terracotta seal.

Throughout the passageways we saw various markings on the walls. One particular family tomb boasted a detailed fresco of Jesus and the disciples. Another was faded beyond recognition. 

Around 800 AD, the Christians abandoned the catacombs. They were later discovered in 1593. 

LORD, It was amazing to see so many graves of people from 2000 years ago. Thank you for their lives and for their spiritual convictions. May we be as committed as they were to your Gospel. Amen.