The newest Christian

This morning we went to Santa Prassede (Praxedes in English) for Mass; I have wanted to see this church since I first caught a thirty-second glimpse of it last year.  It's beautifully frescoed & faux marbled, and has a lovely altar.

We had a double bonus (or maybe a triple!): the boys were asked to be altar servers, and our sweet deacon was there -- and there was also a baptism!  The baby, Federico, was clearly of a mild disposition, given the lack of complaint over the various manipulations to which he was subject: apart from the jostlings, jigglings, wettings, and so on, he was used in the priest's sign of the cross in the final benediction!  He just put up with it all with nary a murmur.

After the Mass, we greeted the priest, who proceeded to tell me to call on him if we needed anything during our time here, that we were very welcome, and that the church was here to be a friend to us.  What a nice welcome!  As it happened, he was the same priest who performed the Mass on St. Eligius's feast day and All Saints' Day.

It is St. Martin's Day tomorrow; in honor of that, there is a huge market that runs all the way from Consolazione (at the bottom of the hill), up into the Piazza del Popolo, and down the Via Roma (back to the bottom of the hill).  Sadly, it's raining cats & dogs -- not a good day for an outdoor market.  On the other hand, in James's opinion, it's never a bad day to buy candy from a street vendor.

A sweet day to all of you!

Love,

Alexandra