Our family pilgrimage to Rome: Middle

Welcome back to our family pilgrimage itinerary review! You can read about the beginnings here.

On Easter Sunday, our itinerary revolved around getting to the papal urbi et orbi scheduled for noon in St Peter’s Basilica. We weren’t sure if Pope Francis would make an appearance, but either way, it was a priority to be present in the heart of the Church on the most important day of the year. I researched Mass times and locations to find an option in the right place at the right time (harder than you’d think in a city with more than 900 Catholic churches!). Because everyone has asked: no, we didn’t try to go to Mass at St Peter’s for Easter because we felt the extensive ticketing process would consume too much time and require too much line-standing for restless kiddos. Instead, we went to San Luigi dei Francesi, which happened to be a French-language liturgy (I know, I know—my heart is always in France, but I swear this choice was purely practical). 

After Mass, we h-u-s-t-l-e-d to St Peter’s Square to make it for the blessing, and we did! One of my favorite things about St Peter’s Square is the huge diversity of the gathered crowd. You see people from all over the world, dressed in all kinds of styles, of all ages, speaking dozens of languages—the word universal rings as loudly as the bells. (Plus: NUNS, y'all. So many delightful, magical nuns!)

When Pope Francis did indeed come out onto the balcony, the crowd roared. He said only a few words of greeting, then a cardinal delivered the complete urbi et orbi message. To be honest, from so far back in the crowd, the pope appeared only as a tiny white figure, but there’s something about real-life seeing and hearing that captivates. Our kids marveled at seeing the actual pope right before their eyes. Of course, we felt happy and grateful to have seen Pope Francis, but nobody knew that this special moment would become historic less than 24 hours later. 

We didn’t have any Easter baskets this year, but we made up for that with delicious take-away pizza and colomba, the traditional Italian Easter cake shaped like a dove and spun of heavenly butter, eggs, sugar, and almonds. 

After lunch and cake, we spent the afternoon exploring the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Imperial Forum. One ticket grants entry into all three sites; kids younger than 18 are free (bring proof of age). I’ve walked around the Colosseum before, but this was the first time I’ve been inside the arena. It’s hard to capture the gravity of being inside this ancient stadium. The heavy walls soar in a staggering wonder of architecture, yet even more compelling is standing in the very place where so many martyrs are believed to have given up their lives for love of Jesus. As we walked through stone arches out onto the arena floor, I couldn’t help imagine Agnes, Perpetua, Felicity, Sebastian doing the same. Did they look up at these same seats? Did the crowd roar as they walked out? 

Next, the Palatino: my favorite place in Rome, and one of the most romantic. The softly crumbling ruins of the emperor’s palace are set into lush, perfumed gardens overlooking the city. We happened to walk through at golden hour, an ideal time to wander the glowing pink stones draped in climbing white flowers and feathery trees. 

In the Palatino, as throughout the city, you’ll find public water fountains that have served fresh water for centuries upon centuries. Bring a water bottle to fill or just sip from your hands, imagining the people who have done exactly the same thing for a thousand years. 

From there, we exited through the Imperial Forum—surprisingly fun for kids because nothing here is precious; they can climb on everything. I’ve found Rome to be a great city for kids (way more so than Paris, for example), and this hands-on access is a primary reason. 

We ended with our favorite meal of the trip at Hosteria Grappolo D'oro (did we finish a bottle of wine? Of course we did), more gelato, and a long stroll through sparkling piazzas and moonlit alleys.

Day 3

Blessed with another day of cool breezes and blue skies, we headed out early for an all-day bike tour. On our way, we heard church bells ringing across the city, but didn’t know yet that they were ringing to announce the death of Pope Francis. The first stop was the Catacombs of San Callisto, the underground burial network that early Christians used for secret worship. Just as we were about to descend into the catacombs, someone in the group got a notification about Pope Francis’ death. The news came as a shock. We had known he was not well and likely near the end, but it’s always jarring to find out about the death of someone you saw just hours ago. As a family, we immediately stopped and prayed for him, and then prayed again with the Salesian priest leading the tour. Just inside the catacombs, we passed the tomb where almost a dozen martyred popes were buried—and I felt deeply struck by how the Church above ground and below centers around Peter.

The tour also encompassed the original Appian Way with its original, 2000-year-old stones still grooved by ancient chariot wheels. We saw the oldest city walls, ruins of noble mausoleums, and other historic treasures. Then we rode through Parco degli Acquedotti, a glorious stretch of wide green fields dotted with orange poppies and criss-crossed by Roman aqueducts—some that are still operational! It happened to be a major Roman holiday—the birthday of Rome—so we passed tons of families grilling, picnicking, playing soccer, and even dressed up as gladiators and centurions. It reminded me of the buzzy St Charles Avenue neutral ground at Mardi Gras! We loved the glimpse into local family life. 

When the tour concluded, we made pilgrimage visits to the Holy Stairs (the staircase Jesus walked up to be sentenced by Pontius Pilate, imported from Jerusalem by St Helena) and the Basilica of St John Lateran, where we entered our first Jubilee holy doors. And yep, we heavily employed tip 9 in between. 

P.S. I intentionally scheduled the bike tour on Day 3 to balance something active with church-hopping, plus the turbo e-bikes were a total blast. The tour was absolutely 10/10. If you're in Rome with kids or without, it's worth every penny.

P.P.S. I hope you'll be back tomorrow for the conclusion of our pilgrimage review, then next week for lots of practical guidance like packing lists and travel tips. 

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