Welcome!

Happy feast of Saint Augustine, which is being celebrated today, Monday 28th August 2023, and a heartfelt welcome to the Sacred Steps: Rome blog.

Saint Augustin by Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1645.

Over the coming months and years I hope to write about my spiritual journey; my experiences of living and studying in Rome as a mature seminarian; and about the fantastically rich culture and history of this ancient city. Hopefully along the way there will also be plenty of useful tips for visitors who have not yet fallen under the spell of La Grande Bellezza - Roma!

Today is actually an auspicious day to launch this blog because when I was received into the Roman Catholic Church as a convert from (extremely lapsed) Anglicanism, I was invited to choose a confirmation name, and I chose Augustine, after today's great saint and Doctor of the Church. Why? Because of his conversion story from dissolute pagan to radical Christian, which resonated deeply with me, and because any saint that can pray to the Lord: ‘Give me chastity and continence, but not yet' has obviously got a sense of humour!