Today was a long but fascinating day. It started with a “45 minute” presentation (read: 90 minutes) on Brother Gabriel Drolin by the Postulator General, Brother Rodolfo (he’s the one who advocates for the causes of Lasallian saints with the Vatican). He traced Drolin’s footsteps over his 26 years in Rome which, surprisingly, were largely focused within a five mile radius of Santa Susanna Parish (the “American” church in Rome – see the entry on 1/25). Our pilgrimage was to follow in Drolin’s footsteps and also to visit some of the more modern Lasallian incarnations at the base of the Spanish Steps. We broke up into language groups and off we went. Once off the Metro, the group had a yearning to see the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception (1645), located on Via Veneto, near Barbarini Square – where the bones of 4000 Capuchin Franciscan Friars are arranged in artistic ways, lining the ceiling and walls of the crypts below ground. Lending a mystical sensibility to what is, admittedly, a creepy and amazing “aesthetic” is a sign that captures the whole macabre experience:
What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.
I had seen the experience when I was last in Rome about 25 years ago and had no desire to do so again, so I went looking for Holly Golightly on the Via Veneto while the group took the 20 minute tour. 
Next, we were off to Santa Susanna and the footsteps of Drolin. The problem with following a trail that really doesn’t exist in the current moment is that you have to imagine what it must have been like for somebody like Drolin to fend for himself over three hundred years ago. Santa Susanna Parish is in the “fashionable” part of Rome bounded by the Piazza del Repubblica on the South, Piazza del Populo on the North and the Spanish Steps on the East. We had to use our imagination to connect with the experience of a young Brother, on his own, in a foreign land. The Papal School he eventually took control of was located in this parish and has been in continuous operation ever since (albeit in three different locations). It was a little easier to make the connection by the time we got to the Spanish Steps and Collegio San Giuseppe – established by 
the Brothers in 1882. It has the most amazing chapel for a K-12 school I’ve ever seen.
Lunch was the order of the day at that point and we were about to leave Collegio San Giuseppe when one of the Brothers invited us to join them in the school “cafeteria”. It was the nicest cafeteria I’ve ever been in – complete with checkered table cloths and china – the food was worthy of the restaurant we would have been searching for otherwise.
Next, we were off to Santa Susanna and the footsteps of Drolin. The problem with following a trail that really doesn’t exist in the current moment is that you have to imagine what it must have been like for somebody like Drolin to fend for himself over three hundred years ago. Santa Susanna Parish is in the “fashionable” part of Rome bounded by the Piazza del Repubblica on the South, Piazza del Populo on the North and the Spanish Steps on the East. We had to use our imagination to connect with the experience of a young Brother, on his own, in a foreign land. The Papal School he eventually took control of was located in this parish and has been in continuous operation ever since (albeit in three different locations). It was a little easier to make the connection by the time we got to the Spanish Steps and Collegio San Giuseppe – established by 
the Brothers in 1882. It has the most amazing chapel for a K-12 school I’ve ever seen.
Lunch was the order of the day at that point and we were about to leave Collegio San Giuseppe when one of the Brothers invited us to join them in the school “cafeteria”. It was the nicest cafeteria I’ve ever been in – complete with checkered table cloths and china – the food was worthy of the restaurant we would have been searching for otherwise.
Our group of nine shrank to six as we trooped off to the Villa Borghese to view its art collection. To put it simply, as far as I am concerned, it is one of the most amazing art collections I’ve ever seen. The main floor is devoted to sculptures (largely ancient) and ceiling frescoes; while the second floor is devoted to the Borghese collection of painted works. I spent so much time on the main floor that I was only able to pass through the second – a good reason to return to Rome!
Next on the agenda was to regroup with the rest of our number at Santa Susanna for evening mass, presided over by La Salle alum Father Greg Apparcel, CSP ’70 (I finally got to meet him). He gave a wonderful homily on the virtues of a Lasallian education – particularly from his perspective as a student. Our group expanded to 12 and off we went to a trattoria near the Coliseum that Brother Bob and Brother Lazaro had visted once before. By the time we hit the Metro, an energetic sub-group wanted to see the Vatican at night and I headed towards the Motherhouse and a warm bed.
* Plaque erected on the wall of Drolin's first permanent school to commemorate 300 years of Lasallian education in Rome
** The sanctuary of the chapel at Collegio San Giuseppe
*** Apollo and Daphne - one reason you must visit the Villa Borghese
**** Tina Bonacci '94, Father Greg Apparcel '70 and yours truly after Mass
Is La Salle's Dining Hall going to get checkered table cloths? :)
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