When in Rome…

Many Catholics will want to attend a Mass ‘when in Rome!’

Attending Mass here is not that difficult as there are only 900+ churches and many have Mass every single day!

St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the main tourist attractions, but it is primarily a place of worship. The Basilica has nine weekday Masses, with seven on Sundays. Problems are that none of the Masses in the Basilica are in English—excepting one Saturday Mass a month—and the security line can be VERY, VERY long.

Basilica Masses are in primarily in Italian though there is at least one Latin Mass said daily.

Sunday Obligation

If you want to fulfill your Sunday obligation when in Rome you can attend any Mass in any Catholic church or chapel. For example, I am staying in a religious house which provides Mass daily in Italian, and residents are welcome to attend. (Tip: Monastery Stays provides basic cost-effective accommodation in Rome.)

Sunday Mass in English

So, where to find a Mass in English while in Rome?

Surprisingly, this can be quite difficult! There is only a handful of churches providing a public English Mass, most Sundays. For an interactive map, please click the link under the map. (Also, it would be wise to check the specific times as some Masses are not provided during summer months or there may be another temporary limitation. Links are in the Appendix below.)

Interractive map at: ***http://www.saintsinrome.com/p/english-mass-times-in-rome.html***

English masses are scattered throughout the city but there are only two churches providing an English Sunday Mass west of the Tiber…and there is only one inside the Vatican City!

English Mass in the Vatican City

Today I plan to attend the one English Sunday Mass in the Vatican at 3:30 p.m. in the Church of Saint Anne. (a.k.a. Sant'Anna in Vaticano, or more specifically, Sant'Anna de' Palafrenieri.)

Sant’Anna marked on the Vatican City map.

Curiously, Sant’Anna is the parish church for the Vatican City, not the Basilica!

Sant’Anna in Vaticano can be found a little north of St Peter’s Square on the East side of the City. A bonus is that it can be accessed through Sant’Anna’s Gate without going through security!

Sant’Anna is on the Via Sant’Anna which is the continuation of the Borgo Pio road coming from Rome—remembering that the Vatican City is an independent state to Rome!

Sant'Anna in Vaticano

Addendum:

The Santa Anna church has a beautiful, oval ornate, quite small interior. There are 9 pews each side seating just over 100 people. That said, the attendance today was a little over half full.

Another Mass was being celebrated before the English Mass, so naturally the Vatican guards want people to wait outside the Vatican walls! You can get in about 20 minutes ahead.

Kevin Hay

You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 / Twitter @ kevinhay77

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