On Sunday, November 2, 2025, the day on which the whole Church remembers and prays for the faithful departed, the friars of the Friary of St. Anthony at the Baths (“La Vigna”) in Rome, made a solemn and meaningful visit to the nearby Catacombs of Domitilla.
In the afternoon, several friars from La Vigna, together with the sisters who live with and serve their community, took part in a guided tour of the catacombs, a place that preserves centuries of Christian faith and hope. The pilgrimage ended with Mass celebrated inside the catacombs. The Guardian of La Vigna, Friar Germano TOGNETTI, presided. In his brief homily, he encouraged everyone to live life fully in the present, because no one knows when the end will come. Estote parati! [Be prepared!]
The choice of the Catacombs of Domitilla was not accidental: it is one of the most important underground Christian cemeteries in Rome. Its earliest tunnels were excavated between the end of the 2nd and the start of the 3rd century AD, on the grounds of an ancient property along the Via Ardeatina that belonged to the Roman noblewoman Flavia Domitilla. Later, a semi-subterranean basilica dedicated to the martyrs Nereus and Achilleus was built, overlooking part of the underground complex: visible evidence of the connection between the memory of the dead and the celebration of faith in the history of the Church.
In the silence of those ancient passageways, the community of the Friary of St. Anthony at the Baths found itself immersed in a real and lived spirituality. The friars were not simply visitors, but participants in the drama and hope of the early Christians. Celebrating Mass in the very place where the witnesses of the faith repose thus took on a deeper meaning: transforming memory into responsibility and meditation into commitment in the present
Friar Gregory Abangiba AMORE
