Elizabeth Lev, in her regular ZENIT column, says the assumption is innacurate:

At my own church of the Protomartyrs, the 10 a.m. Sunday Mass is standing room only and the other five Masses throughout the day are well attended. The draw isn’t the music, nor the coffee and doughnuts; it is the untiring efforts of the parish priests to keep every one involved with the church.

I spoke to our parish priest, Don Carmelo Giarratana, about getting people to come to church.

Don Carmelo (In Italy "Don" is used in place of "Father" for addressing diocesan priests) has been at the Church of the Protomartyrs since 1990. Born in Sicily, he was ordained 42 years ago in the midst of the Second Vatican Council. Don Carmelo told me that the spirit of renewal during Vatican II shaped his life as a diocesan priest.

"I see the role of the priest as among the people," he explained. "From when I first began parish work, I visit the families at their homes, I go to the parks where the kids hang out and to the snack bars where workmen eat their lunches. I try to be in touch with as many people as possible." As anyone living in the area can attest, Don Carmelo practices what he preaches. He is a familiar figure on the local scene.

With only 8,000 families, the Protomartyrs is one of the smallest parishes in Rome, yet also a very active and lively one. The parish organizes a Eucharistic procession for the Feast of Corpus Christi down the main thoroughfare of Via Gregorio VII, with hundreds of faithful walking down the street singing and praying.

She also notes an exhibit in Rome of wooden sculptures from Russia:

The last rooms contain representations of apostles, martyrs and saints. They represent the branches and fruits of the mystical tree. Imagery of St. Nicholas abounds, as he is one of the patron saints of Russia, but unlike the usual images of the saint holding three purses of gold, the Russian St. Nicholas bears a sword alluding to his role as defender of Christianity.

The most unusual works in the show were life-size sculptures of Christ seated in prison after the scourging and the crowning with thorns. They were placed in niches in churches where the faithful could contemplate Christ alone and incarcerated, awaiting the crucifixion.

For Romans who are used to thinking of wood as precious for its rarity, this exhibit invites them to reflect on its role in the history of man’s salvation.