FAREWELL
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus are very extensive. The pilgrims' route reaches
only a small part of the second foor, which is however the most important one,
due to the historically significant crypts of the Popes and of St. Cecilia and
the Cubicles of the Sacraments. The normal visit is a short one, but long enough
to get a good idea of what the catacombs are.
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus are the historical proof that the Church in its origin was a Church of Martyrs. 46 Martyrs known by name are buried in these catacombs, but surely many more unknown martyrs were buried here during the persecutions.
The Church of the time was also a Church of true, authentic Christians, who did not bury their faith underground, in the catacombs, but witnessed it openly and courageously in every state of life, in their families, at work, in every trade and profession, with their loyalty to the emperor and to the State, with their goodness shown towards everyone, so much so that they excited the general admiration of those who were not Christian.
We have described a cemetery where everything speaks of life more than death. Each gallery we passed through, each crypt and cubicle we visited, each painting, sculpture and inscription we saw, gave us a message in a silent yet understandable language: the message of faith, of a Christian testimony in everyday life and, during the persecution, of martyrdom.
For this reason Pope John Paul II said that "in the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 the Catacombs of Rome will rise to a privileged place of prayer and of pilgrimage. Along with the great Roman basilicas, the catacombs must represent for the pilgrims of the Holy Year a goal which cannot be renounced".
This description of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus was taken, by kind permission of the Author, from:
Antonio Baruffa
THE CATACOMBS OF ST. CALLIXTUS - History - Archaeology - Faith
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 4th ed.,1966,pp.192, Lit.20.000
The Author, Dr. of Christian Archaeology and a guide at St. Callixtus, wrote this book in a popular style and enriched it with many coloured photographs and maps. It is the most complete and up-to-date presentation of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. The great archaeologist, professor Louis Reekmans of Louvain (Belgium), reviewed it as "a rare and successful example of archaeological science popularized at a top level". The book has been printed in five languages: Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. An abridged edition has been translated into Polish, Slovenian, Bohemian and Slovak.
Antonio Baruffa
GIOVANNI BATTISTA de ROSSI
L'archeologo esploratore delle Catacombe
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano,1994,pp.223, Lit. 18.000.
On the centenary of the death of Giovanni Battista de Rossi, Dr. Baruffa wrote this new life of the founder of Christian Archaeology. It is an interesting biography of the man, who fully explored and documented the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. The book has also been valued as a proper introduction to the history and to the study of Christian Archaeology.
